Barça forward Leo Messi has included a clause in his renewed contract about the potential independence of Catalonia. If this were to happen, the Argentinian would continue to play for the team as long as the team competes "in a first-class European league", Spanish newspaper El Mundo reports. If not, he could leave the club without paying his 700 million euro (£620 million, $840 million) severance clause.
According to the newspaper, Messi would only remain with Barça if they play in the English, German, French or Spanish leagues. The club has told the player that, if, as a consequence of independence, the club doesn't play in one of the great European leagues, he would be automatically released.
The same conditions would apply to the other players if Barça were to end up playing in a league formed exclusively of Catalan clubs.
A show of commitment
These new conditions in the Argentinian's contract renewal are governed by a basic legal principle, that of rebus sic stantibus, which allows a contract to be revised when there is a fundamental change in circumstances after it is signed.
El Mundo says that the option of playing in the Spanish league would be impossible, prohibited by sports legislation: "The Law on Sport would automatically exclude Barça from La Liga in case of independence". As such, the Argentinian star would only remain at Barcelona if the team were welcomed by some other European league.
With the clause, both player and club show their degree of commitment. On the one hand, the footballer wouldn't see any effect on his great career and he would keep playing at an elite level; on the other hand, Barça wouldn't be obliged to keep a player with one of the largest contracts in the history of the sport (a contract which, surely, they couldn't pay if not playing at the highest level).