Barring Messi's Move To PSG, Barcelona Supporters File Lawsuit In French Court

Lionel Messi (Instagram @leomessi)

JAKARTA - A Barcelona supporter has filed a lawsuit with a French court and the European Commission with the aim of blocking the possibility of Lionel Messi moving to Paris Saint-Germain.

Documents seen by Reuters on Monday show that a lawsuit shared by lawyers for a Barcelona supporter named Juan Branco said that French football authorities could not enforce Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules because they helped PSG become the power of European football.

Barcelona, ​​like its main La Liga rivals Real Madrid, is wholly owned by the due-paying fans known as "socios".

The lawsuit states that FFP rules prohibit Europe's top football clubs from spending more than their total income, in addition to calling Messi's transfer to PSG a potential violation of FFP rules.

The EU executive confirmed it had accepted the lawsuit.

"The Commission is assessing the complaint according to its standard procedures," a spokesman said.

PSG and the French professional football league LFP declined to respond to requests for comment from Reuters.

Sam Boor, a senior manager at Deloitte's sports business division, told Reuters in April that European football's governing body UEFA usually says a 70 percent wage-to-earnings ratio should be the upper limit the club is targeting. But some big clubs may pass that mark and even in the short term may break up to 100 per cent.

According to the lawsuit, any transfer of Messi from Barcelona to PSG would distort competition with other national leagues and would be detrimental to Barcelona fans.

This distortion will affect the competition in the football market in the European Union, said the lawsuit filed with the EU's executive body. And therefore categorized as state aid that violates the law.

The European Commission can order EU member governments to withdraw state aid if they are found to be giving companies an unfair advantage.