European court set to hear case against PSG’s acquisition of Messi

A bunch of Barcelona fans in Lyon have presented a case against Paris Saint-Germain for allegedly circumventing the Financial Fair Play rules to sign Lionel Messi, reports Mundo Deportivo.

The complaint was lodged by the Barcelona group arguing that the French giants had not complied with the rules while signing the Argentine ace in 2021 last year – the same regulations that barred Barcelona from keeping hold of the player in the same year.

Instead of lodging the case to the French courts, the group has come before the European court in Luxembourg to settle the matter.

In a massive win for the Barcelona fans, the European court has agreed to hear the case, appointing Marc Jaegar as the investigating judge. Jaeger is the former president of the court and has been working in Luxembourg for ten years.

The European court will hear the case on Tuesday, with the hearing set to be held in a large room of the court. Lyon supporters’ club lawyer Juan Branco sees this as a massive victory for his group.

Messi has been enjoying an excellent season in Ligue 1. However, with PSG involved in various scandals, including an alleged smear campaign against Kylian Mbappe in 2019, there are many who believe the attacker could leave in 2023.

Messi’s current contract at Parc des Princes expires at the end of the season. Barcelona are among the clubs interested in his services, though it remains to be seen whether the Blaugrana succeed in their quest to bring the player back to Catalonia.