The ruling body said the only way for the Argentine forward to be released from the contract was to trigger a 700-million euros ($833 million) release clause. La Liga confirmed that they side with Barcelona on Lionel Messi's contract dispute, stating his current contract is still valid and interested clubs must pay his €700m release clause. La Liga and the Barca board: pic.twitter.com/41Def45XgC — B/R Football (@brfootball) August 30, 2020"In compliance with the applicable rule, La Liga will not approve a request to be de-registered as a player with the Spanish football federation, unless the amount in the release clause has been paid," La Liga said in a statement. Messi did not attend a medical with Barcelona on Sunday, a Barca club source confirmed. Reuters footage showed players arriving for coronavirus tests on Sunday morning and Messi did not appear.

Source: Dhaka Tribune August 30, 2020 12:56 UTC