Barcelona presidential candidate Toni Freixa doubts any club will “run the risk” of triggering Lionel Messi’s €700m release clause.
Messi has made no secret of his desire to leave the Camp Nou this summer, going very public with the burofax he sent to the Barca board.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner made it clear that he wishes to leave the Catalan club and City have been heavily linked with a move for the Argentine.
However, before he can look for another club, his situation at Barca still needs to be resolved - with talks still ongoing between Messi’s representatives and the club’s hierarchy.
And Freixa, who is running to become Barcelona’s next president, believes the much talked-about €700m release clause in the forward’s contract could prove too risky for any club to break.
“I was able to view the document and I saw that it didn’t have sufficient basis,” Freixa said to Radio Catalunya.
“The client is always right in these cases, and I expect that Messi’s advisers told him they would support him whether he sent it, or whether he didn’t.
“Messi can demand a transfer out of the club. But a judge could rule that his new club must pay his 700 million euro release clause, or a similarly high penalty fee. And surely no club will run that risk.”
Jorge Messi, the Barca number 10’s father and agent, has claimed that the release clause no longer stands in his contract, despite contrary claims from La Liga.
City boss Pep Guardiola spent four years in charge at Barca - linking up very well with Messi - who, in that time, won three Ballon d’Or awards.
