El Periodico have leaked some WhatsApp conversations between Josep Maria Bartomeu's board members.
In one of them, dated January 31, 2021, Leo Messi is heavily abused.
"Barto, really, you can't be such a good person with this sewer rat. The club has given him [Messi] everything and he has dedicated himself to marking a dictatorship of signings, transfers, renewals, sponsors, etc. just for himself" former head of Barca's legal services, Roman Gomez Ponti, wrote.
"I will never be able to do it [leak Messi's contract details], but Pinto, Suarez's contract extension, and that of Jordi Alba, or the renewal commission for Fati (is Rodrigo Messi his agent?) should be added to the figures of his contract. And, above all, the accumulation of blackmail and rudeness that the club and those of us who work here have suffered from this hormonal dwarf, who owes Barca his life... ah!
"But when things go wrong (pandemic), you receive the mythical WhatsApp message: 'President, lower the salaries of others, but don't touch Luis [Suarez] and me.'"
"Yes," former Barca CEO Oscar Grau replied.
Interestingly, Bartomeu went on to defend Messi in this conversation.
"I agree on many things, but first of all about Barca, and this type of article [on Messi's leaked contract] damages the club's image (...) We have listened to Leo many times. Not always, but many times, and his contract was totally acceptable if not for the pandemic. It represents 15% of the budget and it was correct taking into account everything that he generates."
This talk took place exactly the same day Messi's contract was leaked into the press. If these messages are true, it means that Josep Maria Bartomeu's board is fully responsible for leaking it.
