In January 2021, the leak of Barcelona's contract with Lionel Messi caused a stir in Spanish football. According to the leaked news, Messi's salary was 552.2 million 37 thousand 619 euros in the contract renewed for four years in 2017.
After the top secret information came out, there was a storm of controversy about it. Two years after the incident, Catalan police say two former members of the Barcelona board are involved in the leak of Messi's contract. At that time, however, not only Messi, but also former Barca star Gerard Pique's contract amount was leaked.
Citing the Catalan-based media Kadena Ser, Forbes wrote that the Catalan police found evidence of the involvement of former Barca director Oscar Garu and former head of the legal services department, Roman Gomez Ponti, in the leak of Messi's contract. Details of the deal were leaked from conversations between the two, who worked under former president Joseph Maria Bartemeu.
The Catalan police identified those responsible for the contract leak mainly from the devices seized during the investigation of the Bersagate scandal. From the nature of the conversation between the two board-leaders, it is believed that they deliberately leaked the details of the deal that day.
In 2020, Barça president Bartemeu signed an agreement with Uruguay-based company Aitri. Social media was said to boost the reputation of the club, but behind the scenes, they worked to discredit Bartemeu and his confidants and discredit former and current stars. This is known as Bursagate scandal.
Leaking such highly confidential documents is considered a crime, but it is not yet certain whether the two members of the Barca board will be brought under the law. Because, here it is not the leak of the contract, but the Bursagate scandal is being investigated.
Cadena Ser says Catalan police are now preparing a report on the evidence to present to judges. It will then be decided by the judges whether a separate case will be filed in this regard or whether it will be settled under Bersagate.