La Liga has said Barcelona skipper, Lionel Messi can only leave the club if the €700m release clause is paid making it harder for the Argentina international to move away.
Messi recently tendered a transfer request to exercise a clause in his contract which allowed him to leave for free before the start of 2020/21 season.
The period has however passed but Messi’s lawyers believe Barcelona should honour it as the season had to be extended because of the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement, La Liga said:
In compliance with the applicable regulations and protocol that apply in such instances, La Liga will not carry out the prior visa-release process for the player (Lionel Andres Messi) to be unregistered from the (Royal Spanish Football) Federation if the sum in the aforementioned clause has not been paid beforehand.