After revealing to the penny the amount of a contract renewal allowing him to pocket over four years more than 550 million euros with FC Barcelona,
El Mundo
unveils this Thursday some extra-sporting clauses included in the extension.
In exchange for record compensation, Barça leaders reportedly demanded exemplary behavior from the Argentinean allowing him to immerse himself deeply in the local culture of Catalonia.
Messi and the "efforts to integrate Catalan society"
Thus, we learn that by signing the contract, Messi agreed to "make a maximum of efforts to integrate Catalan society while respecting and assuming cultural values" while committing to "learning the Catalan language, a fundamental vector of this integration. "
This obligation may come as a surprise, but it is not reserved for “La Pulga”.
The Spanish club imposed it on other players who must, like the n ° 10 participate in charity events organized by FC Barcelona.
Messi, who has never spoken publicly in Catalan according to
El Mundo
, also agreed to give up the practice of jet skiing.
An activity considered risky, like skiing, very regularly prohibited to football players.
A clause to leave Barça free
The daily also returns to an exclusive clause negotiated by the representatives of the attacker, clumsily nicknamed "anti-Catalonia".
Before the signing of the contract, the Argentinian clan was concerned about the referendum on the independence of the autonomous community organized on October 1, 2017. As a precaution, Messi and his agents had negotiated a way out of the club leaving the player free of everything commitment.
This was activated if Barça ever played in a championship reserved for Catalan teams, in the event that the Blaugranas had left La Liga.
The Sport Law in Spain stipulated that the team would be automatically excluded from the Spanish championship in the event of Catalonia's independence.
In 2017, FC Barcelona was in favor of holding a self-determination referendum in the region, which was finally declared illegal by the Spanish Constitutional Court.
The club had even joined the general strike because of the police violence that occurred after the vote.
The same day, the team won against Las Palmas (3-0) in a Camp Nou closed to the public.
At the time, some players had asked, like Gerard Pique, not to play, others, like Xavi in particular, had supported the idea of the match behind closed doors.
Lionel Messi, he spoke in the locker room to defend the holding of the meeting and propose the opening of the stadium gates.
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Messi would have imposed a departure clause in case of independence from Catalonia