Sports attorney explains Messi contract situation
Stephen Taylor Heath, Head of Sports Law at JMW Solicitors, discussed the complications in Lionel Messi’s contract situation in Barcelona:
“The proposed release clause for Messi, who is entitled to leave without a transfer fee, provided he quits within a certain number of days from the original date for the Champions League final in May (ie a few days after the end of the season). is an interesting legal question. When the football season was interrupted, there was a lot of talk about whether player contracts that were supposed to expire at the end of the season could be extended until the end of the season.
“The generally accepted position was that the player could legally claim that his contract had expired on the specified calendar date, although when the contract was signed it was assumed that the season would end by then. In other words, the suspension of the season made no contractual difference.
“Conversely, when the club applies this principle to Messi, they argue that the date in May that Messi had to report the exit is independent of the end of the season. Because of his resignation, he could only leave next May. The club will also argue that the reason they needed to be notified in May was because they had enough time to recruit a replacement in the closing season and that under the current circumstances, the transfer window would have been less.
“Messi will argue that the whole purpose of the clause is to allow him to judge what he wants to do at the end of a season. In the circumstances, applying the May date is not in keeping with the spirit of the agreement. Such a clause, which allows a player to break their contract with no transfer fee, is only available to superstars of Messi’s stature, as such clauses usually include a “buy-out” for a minimum / fixed transfer fee.
“Given the alleged contracted minimum transfer fee of £ 700million, the stakes are obviously high if Messi leaves without the ability to rely on the said clause and the club and Messi may prefer to find a solution rather than litigating to lead. The club acquiring Messi want to be certain of what basis they are acquiring Messi on rather than having the fee set by a tribunal since the stakes are so high. “The proposed release clause for Messi, who is entitled to leave without a transfer fee, provided he quits within a certain number of days from the original date for the Champions League final in May (i.e. a few days after the end of the season) is an interesting legal issue. When the football season was interrupted, there was a lot of talk about whether player contracts that were supposed to expire at the end of the season could be extended until the end of the season.
“The generally accepted position was that the player could legally claim that his contract had expired on the specified calendar date, although when the contract was signed it was assumed that the season would end by then. In other words, the suspension of the season made no contractual difference.
“Conversely, when the club applies this principle to Messi, they argue that the date in May that Messi had to report the exit is independent of the end of the season. Because of his resignation, he could only leave next May. The club will also argue that the reason they needed to be notified in May was because they had enough time to recruit a replacement in the closing season and that under the current circumstances, the transfer window would have been less.
“Messi will argue that the whole purpose of the clause is to allow him to judge what he wants to do at the end of a season. In the circumstances, applying the May date is not in keeping with the spirit of the agreement. Such a clause, which allows a player to break their contract with no transfer fee, is only available to superstars of Messi’s stature, as such clauses usually include a “buy-out” for a minimum / fixed transfer fee.
“Given the alleged contracted minimum transfer fee of € 700million, the stakes are obviously high if Messi leaves without being able to rely on the said clause and the club and Messi may prefer to find a solution rather than litigation to lead. The club acquiring Messi want to be certain of what basis they are acquiring Messi on rather than having the fee set by a tribunal since the stakes are so high. “
.
