Will Leo Messi win his final match with (against) Barça?
The hot topic at the moment is that Leo Messi is leaving Barça, and everyone has been talking about it over the last few days.
Is Leo Messi entitled to terminate his contract with Fútbol Club Barcelona? The answer, it seems, appears to be complex and based on a purely legal solution which, barring a surprise amicable settlement between the parties, will have to be resolved in the courts of Barcelona.
Having said that, let us analyse the legal situation surrounding the dispute:
Apparently, the contract between Messi and FC Barcelona includes a clause whereby the Argentine star can terminate it and, consequently, leave for another club on a free transfer on “10 June 2020”. However, as is well known to all football fans worldwide, this is not a random date, but the exact day or week on which the regular season (League, Cup and Champions League) usually ends.
This is why the controversy has arisen: does the contract stipulate that it may only be terminated on that specific date? Or was it the parties’ intention to allow it to be terminated once the football season had ended?
THE TWO INTERPRETATIONS OF LEO MESSI’S CONTRACT
Meanwhile, Leo Messi and his legal team argue that the deadline for resolving the contract was set for the end of the season.
FC BARCELONA maintains, and will continue to maintain, that the wording of the clause is clear as regards the exact date – 10 June 2020 – on which that option expired.
Who is right?
The truth is that both positions have their merits and are valid, but there are certain facts, principles and indications that might suggest Leo Messi is in the right:
Firstly, the situation brought about by COVID-19 and the legal doctrine known as ‘rebus sic stantibus’.
This line of case law holds that, in circumstances that were entirely unforeseeable to the parties when they signed a contract – such as those brought about by COVID-19 – the contract’s terms must be “adapted” or “modified” to the circumstances that have arisen.
This could lead to the interpretation that, indeed, as a result of the situation caused by COVID-19 – which led to the regular season being extended until August 2020 – the period during which Messi could terminate his contract has also been extended.
FIFA documents
In line with the above, according to official sources, there are internal documents between FIFA and the football clubs in which, by mutual agreement, it was agreed to extend the regular season until August 2020, following the Champions League final.
That is why it would be contradictory for Barça to have agreed to this extension with FIFA, yet, in the court proceedings against Messi, to attempt to argue that the end of the season and the option to terminate the contract were set, irrevocably, for June 2020.
What does Spanish employment law say?
Finally, we must not overlook the fact that this entire legal dispute must be analysed in the light of Spanish labour law, as it is a dispute between an employer and an employee.
And within that legal context, Spanish law recognises the principle known as ‘in dubio pro operario’.
In other words: where there is any doubt, the decision should be in favour of the worker.
Yet another challenge that FC Barcelona will have to overcome.
A very interesting legal dispute indeed, which the team at AURIS LAWYERS Consider this on a day-to-day basis: should priority be given to the literal wording of the contract, or should it be interpreted in the light of the intention of both parties at the time of signing and the circumstances that have arisen?
Juan Torrecilla, solicitor for Auris Advocats
Specialties:
Insolvency Department
Commercial Department
Civil and commercial litigation