Will the fans get away with it?
Several Barça fans have gone to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to challenge Lionel Messi’s (35) free transfer from FC Barcelona to Paris St. Germain in 2021. This was first reported by the English “Guardian”.
The fans’ accusation: PSG did not comply with an EU law on state aid. In addition, the salary of the Argentine (107 million euros for three years) is externally financed, according to the indictment.
Several lawyers for Barça supporters traveled to the ECJ in Luxembourg on Tuesday to speak for three hours before Judge Marc Jaeger, former President of the ECJ, the Guardian reports.
It is said to have been about Paris St. Germain’s violations of Uefa Financial Fair Play.
The European Football Association found out last year that PSG violated the regulations of Financial Fair Play 2021 at the time of the Messi transfer in 2021 and fined the French series champion almost 65 million euros!
In front of the cameras Messi makes reporters cry
21.10.2022
With several transfers, including the EUR 180 million change of world champion and super striker Kylian Mbappé (23) from AS Monaco in 2018 and Neymar (30), who transferred from FC Barcelona in 2017 for the record sum of EUR 222 million to went to the French capital, the Messi club is said to have illegally received money from Qatar and the French Football Federation did not check it.
The same is said to have happened with the financing of Messi’s salary – the money for the financing is said to have even come from the French state.
The fans’ lawyers are therefore asking the court to also initiate proceedings against the French government for “illegal state aid to PSG and the French football clubs in national and European competitions”.
A verdict is due in two months. However, whether the Barça fans will be successful and Messi’s contract will expire so that he can return to FC Barcelona as a free player seems unlikely.
At the beginning of 2022, the fans failed with a lawsuit before the ECJ and are now appealing.
