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#3 Neymar's loyalty bonus claims
Just a few years after Neymar's transfer controversy, the attacker and Barcelona got into another legal battle. This time, they went face-to-face with each other over claims of unpaid bonuses to the Brazilian.
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Shortly after leaving the Blaugrana to join Paris Saint-Germain on a world-record deal in 2017, Neymar alleged that Barca owed him a €26 million loyalty bonus. The club, in turn, refused to honor it, citing a breach of agreement on the part of the player as an excuse.
The case dragged on for several months until the attacker decided to put an end to the legal battles between him and the club earlier this year.
#2 Lionel Messi's burofax saga
The 2019-2020 campaign proved to be disastrous for Barcelona. The Catalan giants experienced a disappointing trophyless outing, magnified by a humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League semifinals.
Unimpressed by the sporting project at Camp Nou under Josep Maria Bartomeu, club legend Lionel Messi demanded a transfer. The Argentine sent his transfer request to the president via a burofax on August 24, 2020. He cited a clause in his contract that was meant to allow him to leave for free at the end of the season.
However, Bartomeu refused to honor the request. Refusing to take the club of his life to court, Messi ended up staying at Camp Nou. But the situation had already harmed his long-standing relationship with Barcelona and projected a negative image of the club across Europe.
#1 Joan Laporta's mind games
During the campaigns for the recent presidential elections, Joan Laporta made the promise that he'd keep Lionel Messi at Camp Nou if he came out on top. That won him massive support and he was voted in with the expectation of finding a way to tie the Argentine to a new contract.
However, the opposite happened as the attacker was forced to leave the club due to reported economic reasons. While the president cited financial constraints as an excuse, there are many who believe he could've done more to keep Leo in Catalonia.
With the controversies surrounding Barcelona's Super League commitments, the CVC deal and the alleged Florentino Perez's influence in Blaugrana's affairs, it's looking more like Laporta has other priorities. Apparently, he just used Messi's name to win the elections.
