Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has denied being behind the sensational leak of Lionel Messi's £492million contract to the media.
Full details of Messi's four-year contract, signed in 2017 and due to expire this summer when he can depart the Nou Camp for nothing, were published by El Mundo at the weekend.
It revealed that the combination of fixed salary, image rights, variables and tax Barcelona will have to pay on the contract amounts to €555,237,619 over its duration.
The newspaper ran the story under a headline that said Messi, 33, will 'ruin Barcelona' with the Argentine star planning to pursue legal action against El Mundo and anyone at the club found to have passed on the confidential information.
Bartomeu, who resigned from the club last October and whose relationship with Messi soured when he wasn't allowed to leave last summer, has denied leaking the contract.
'It's completely false [I was involved in the leak],' he told TV3 in Spain. 'This is a very serious issue because it's completely illegal to leak any professional contract to the media.
'It's easy to make accusations but this is not a joke and it's going to end up in court.
'Messi deserves everything he earns, be that for professional or commercial reasons. Without the pandemic, Barcelona would be more than capable of paying those numbers.'
Barcelona have not yet formally replaced Bartomeu as president with elections scheduled for March 7.
Leading candidates Joan Laporta and Victor Font have both come out in support of Messi since the story was published.
Barcelona's gross debt has risen to over £1billion as a result of the pandemic and there are genuine questions as to whether they can afford to keep Messi even if he wants to stay beyond the summer.
Revealing Messi to be the highest-paid sportsman of all-time by some distance, the contract guarantees the player €138m (£122m) a season in gross salary.
He earned a 'renewal fee' of €115m (£102m) for accepting the contract and is said to take home €79m (£69m) each year in a 'loyalty' bonus for staying at the Nou Camp.
With five months left on the deal, Messi has already earned an eye-watering €511m (£452m).
The report also broke down some of the bonuses awarded to Messi since the 2017-18 campaign.
As a part of his current deal, Messi earned an extra £616,172 (€695,748) for winning FIFA's Best Player award during the 2018-19 campaign.
The Argentine is also guaranteed a whopping £3.1m (€3.5m) if Barcelona win the Champions League – something the club hasn't achieved since 2015.
Other variables include Messi banking another £1.75m (€1.9m) if he plays 60 per cent of games while he will receive extra payments each knockout stage of the Champions League he reached, as well as winning LaLiga and the Copa del Rey.
Barcelona's and Messi's disastrous campaign last season also saw the club dodge having to pay many of the variables in his contract, while the talismanic forward also agreed to 70 per cent pay cut to his salary due to the coronavirus pandemic – as did the rest of the Barcelona squad.
Out of the 10 variables listed, only one of them was met which came after the Catalan club reached the last 16 of the Champions League and saw Messi bank £985,966 (€1.1m) for doing so.
In total, the jaw-dropping £492m total makes Messi's contract the biggest in sports history, beating the likes of Patrick Mahomes' £402m 10-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs and Canelo Alvarez's £292m five-fight deal with DAZN.
The leak has infuriated Messi's camp who are now looking to prepare a lawsuit against El Mundo as a result, according to RAC1.
Following news of the leak, Barcelona stated that it regretted the publication of the private document while announcing their support for Messi.
The statement read: 'In view of the information published today in the newspaper El Mundo, in relation to the professional contract signed between FC Barcelona and the player Lionel Messi, the club regrets its publication given that it is a private document governed by the principle of confidentiality between the parties.
'FC Barcelona categorically denies any responsibility for the publication of this document, and will take appropriate legal action against the newspaper El Mundo, for any damage that may be caused as a result of this publication.
'FC Barcelona expresses its absolute support for Lionel Messi, especially in the face of any attempt to discredit his image, and to damage his relationship with the entity where he has worked to become the best player in the world and in football history.'
The leading candidates for the presidency were quick to capitalise on the leak.
Laporta told Rac1: 'Messi has not ruined the club. That was the previous board, who have lost all reasoning since 2016.
'These types of stories show a complete lack of respect to Barca. But given the lack of governance at the club with no president, it's easier for these things to happen.'
Font told Onda Cero: 'We have to do everything possible to retain Messi. That was true in 2017 and it's still true now.
'Messi generates that much and more for the club. To suggest the club is ruined because of him is a completely erroneous conclusion.'
Barca manager Ronald Koeman, speaking after Messi scored his 650th goal for the club against Athletic Bilbao on Sunday night said the club should fire anyone found to have leaked the contract.
The irate Barcelona coach said: 'What has come out is intended to damage him. Messi deserves respect.
'He has done so much for Spanish football. There are people out to hurt Barcelona and Messi. If it turns out to be someone on the inside then that is very bad and they should have no future at the club.'