Former Barcelona player Matheus Fernandes has provided the club with an unwelcome distraction, as he threatens to sue his former employers over wrongful termination.
The Brazilian, who signed for Barcelona in July 2020 from Palmeiras and played just eighteen minutes in a Champions League tie, is threatening to sue the club over wrongful termination – reports Marca. Fernandes was released by the Catalan club on June 30, 2021, with the club in financial distress.
Former sporting director Eric Abidal brought Matheus to Camp Nou at the end of the 2019/20 season. The Frenchman, however, was sacked by the club along with the then-president Josep Maria Bartomeu subsequently. Bartomeu reportedly left the club in financial disarray, the effects of which are being dealt with to this day.
Barcelona’s wage structure currently exceeds the LaLiga salary cap by a whopping 200 million euros, which the club must get under control soon. A failure to do so means that the club won’t be able to register new signings for the upcoming season, which could potentially include Lionel Messi.
Messi, as it stands, is a free agent after the player and the club were unable to agree to fresh terms in time. Furthermore, Barcelona has already signed four new players for the 2021/22 season – Eric Gracia, Emerson Royal, Sergio Aguero, and Memphis Depay – but won’t register any unless they reduce their wage bill or a compromise can be reached with the league.
As such, the club is hard at work to get rid of the deadwood. Matheus Fernandes was viewed by the club under the same lens, leading to his termination at the end of the previous month.
Meanwhile, the Spanish giants have also loaned out Francisco Trincao to Wolverhampton Wanderers – a player who cost them 30 million euros last summer. Left-back Junior Firpo is also seemingly on his way to Leeds United, while the futures of Samuel Umtiti, Miralem Pjanic, Phillipe Coutinho, Martin Braithwaite, Antoine Griezmann, and Sergi Roberto remain unclear.
