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Audio and texts that reportedly contained a proposal to divert funds from Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique, relayed through Luis Rubiales to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, made the rounds on the internet.
A series of alleged leaked audio and texts from the pandemic revealed that a negotiation took place between Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique, Luis Rubiales and UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin intending to divert UEFA funds directly towards player salaries.
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23:51 - 19.05.2024
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17:59 - 30.04.2024
World Cup winner Del Bosque tasked with overseeing RFEF following Rubiales saga
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What happened
The global lockdown enforced due to the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected businesses all around the world, including football. Teams with already unhealthy finances became terminal, those previously unstable shook even more, and clubs with relatively healthy books had to penny pinch; the pandemic was that devastating.
This led to clubs requiring players to take significant pay cuts or at least defer their wages. Lionel Messi confirmed at the time that Barcelona players had accepted a 70% pay cut.
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According to the Objective, under the condition of secrecy, former RFEF president Luis Rubiales relayed a meeting between himself, Lionel Messi and Pique to UEFA’s top boss, Ceferin, where they discussed diverting UEFA funds to cover the pay cuts.
Per the report, it was proposed to Ceferin that 5% of UEFA’s broadcasting revenue be used to cushion the effect for the players whose regular earnings had been impacted. The conversation between Rubiales, Messi and Pique was said to have taken place in April and May of 2020, via a video conference call that extended for four hours.
In relaying the message to Ceferin, Rubiales said, “I’m sending you this audio with a message from Leo Messi. It’s my voice, but his message,” According to AS.
“I say it is important for us to have Messi and the rest with us. There is no need to spend money. We just change where the funds go.”
The discussions eventually failed to lead to anything concrete; however, there are still questions surrounding the ethics of such a call.
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