Barcelona lawyers move to BLOCK Lionel Messi’s transfer to PSG as Catalans claim the ‘French club’s FFP ratio is worse than theirs’ in complaint to European Court of Appeals
- Lionel Messi announced as he wept that he is leaving Barcelona this summer
- The club can’t afford the icon’s wages even if the Argentine took a pay cut
- PSG are moving in to pounce but Barca are now aiming to stop the transfer
- They claim the Parisians cannot make the signing due to their own FFP ratio
Lionel Messi’s dramatic exit from Barcelona still has some twists left, with the Catalans alleging PSG cannot sign the Argentine icon due to their own FFP situation.
Lawyers at the Spanish club have filed a complain to the European Court of Appeals, stating the Parisians should be stopped in their pursuit of Messi based on financial data.
Messi confirmed in a teary press conference that he will be leaving Barcelona this summer after a lifetime at the club, and is now finalising terms with PSG.
Lionel Messi’s move to PSG could be blocked as Barcelona’s lawyers submit a complaint
In a document posted by Juan Branco, the lawyers confirmed they are looking to stop the move
However, Barca aren’t keen to see their all-time greatest player move to a European rival, and are very interested in meddling with the move.
Juan Branco confirmed the complaint on Twitter: ‘On behalf of FC Barcelona partners, my firm has prepared a complaint with the European Commission and demands for provisional suspension before civil and administrative courts in France to prevent Paris-Saint Germain from signing Lionel Messi.
‘PSG’s ratios in terms of ‘Financial Fair Play’ are worse than those of FC Barcelona.
‘In 2019-2020, PSG’s salary-to-income ratio was 99%, while Barcelona’s was 54%. Meanwhile, the difference has increased.
Barcelona claim PSG are in a worse place than them with regards to Financial Fair Play
Messi has spent his entire career with Barcelona but is now finally going to venture out
‘It is inconceivable that the ‘Financial Fair Play’ serves to aggravate the drifts of football-business, the instrumentalization of football by sovereign powers, and the distortion of competitions.’
The report claims PSG will fall foul of FFP with the signing of Messi, and reveals that Barcelona couldn’t renew the star’s contract because even after a 50 per cent pay cut, the club’s wage bill would be 110 per cent of cap, according to Marca.
It also reportedly pointed as the Ligue 1 side’s active summer this year, with Gianluigi Donnarumma, Sergio Ramos, Achraf Hakimi and Georginio Wijnaldum all arriving at the Parc de Princes.
They already have the massive wages of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar to shoulder.
