Follow Up – INA
Today, Sunday, the La Liga League issued an official statement to comment on the current crisis between Lionel Messi, Barcelona's star, and the management of the Catalan club.
Messi had asked days ago to leave the club for free and cancel his contract, and today he was absent from attending the Corona tests with his colleagues, in preparation for the new season.
The League said: "Regarding the various and contradictory explanations published in recent days in the media about the contractual status of Lionel Messi with Barcelona, La Liga considers it appropriate to clarify this according to the player's contract with his club."
"The contract is currently valid and contains a penalty clause if Lionel Messi decides to leave early and terminate the contract unilaterally, in accordance with Article 16 of Royal Decree 1006/1985 that regulates the special work relationship for professional athletes."
The League concluded: "According to the regulations in force, and the necessary procedures are followed in such cases, La Liga will not carry out any transfer of the player, if he did not pay in advance the amount mentioned in the penalty clause."