The much-discussed fax with which Lionel Messi tried to force a departure from Barcelona last August has ended up on the street. Mundo Deportivo will publish the attacker’s letter to the board of the Catalans on Sunday, although it is not clear how the fax came into the possession of the Spanish newspaper. Messi eventually stayed with Barcelona for another season before making the move to Paris Saint-Germain.
Messi was at a crossroads in his career at Barcelona in mid-2020. His contract ran until the end of the 2020/21 season, but a provision had been made stating that he could ask the club for termination of his contract before June 10. In that case, Messi could leave the Camp Nou on a free transfer. The Argentine star player sent the fax on August 24 at 6:19 p.m., according to the publication of Mundo Deportivo. Messi pushed for a departure after the embarrassing 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League ten days earlier.
The famous fax that Lionel Messi sent to then Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu.
Barcelona refused to cooperate and pointed out to Messi that the June 10 deadline had long since passed. The attacker took a different view and stated in the fax that he was still on time because of the corona pandemic and its consequences. The football world was silent for several months and the final of the Champions League between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern (0-1) was only finished on August 23. A day later, Messi announced that he wanted to exchange Barcelona for another club.
Messi filed a request to leave Barcelona on August 30 so that he could find another employer with a transfer-free status. His wish to leave was the main sports news in Spain and beyond for days. There was a lot of discussion on social media about the fax Messi had sent to the Barcelona leadership. Photos of the fax in question appeared in several places, but they all turned out to be fake. So more than a year later, the real fax came into the hands of the editors of Mundo Deportivo.
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On September 4, after a turbulent period, Barcelona announced that Messi would stick to the selection of coach Ronald Koeman for another year. Earlier this summer, both parties even reached an agreement on contract extension. However, due to the difficult financial situation, Barcelona was unable to comply with LaLiga rules, after which Messi opted for a new adventure at PSG.
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