Barcelona terminated Brazilian midfielder Matheus Fernandes’ contract through email, and as a result, was had to pay him £7.5 million.
The Brazilian midfielder, who only saw 17 minutes of first-team action while playing for Barcelona, has chosen to sue his former employers for how they handled him.
He was upset that the LaLiga giants fired him by email and did not hold a formal launching ceremony for him when he joined the team.
Fernandes, who paid £6 million to join Barcelona in January 2020, was let go in the summer of 2021 after only one appearance as a late replacement against Dynamo Kyiv.
The 24-year-old midfielder, who had signed a five-year contract that was supposed to keep him at the Nou Camp until 2025, was upset to have been let go.
Fernandes chose to file a lawsuit against LaLiga giants as a result of his frustration with the manner in which his contract was terminated.
Fernandes hired a team of attorneys, who filed the complaint and sought $13 million in damages from the team.
A court, however, rejected the £13 million and ordered Barcelona to pay £7.5 million in its place.
Fernandes responded, “I didn’t know [about being freed], and when they told me I couldn’t believe it,” when questioned about leaving Barcelona.
“I was at home, getting ready to go out with my wife, when I got a message asking if I shared the same email address from the club. After I had confirmed, I had it.
I submitted it to my management and lawyer since I didn’t comprehend it [the firing]. They claimed that I had been fired.
As time went on, my name started to surface in the media. Nothing was said; not even a hello or goodbye call was made.
Fernandes concluded by adding that although he had “always dreamed” of playing for the LaLiga giants, the reality had never come close to fulfilling his expectations since he “was not treated as a footballer.”
