In the midst of reports saying the Chilean midfielder could be on his way out of the club, Vidal has denounced Barca for a bonus of 2.4 million euros.
Arturo Vidal’s time at Barcelona is seeming closer and closer to its end. The midfielder has been heavily linked with a move to Inter Milan, and the midfielder has now gone on to sue his current club for a bonus that he feels he unfairly did not receive, reports Spanish news outlet, ABC.
The bonus in question is with regards to several milestones the club hit throughout last season, and the complaint has been filed to the Mixed Committee of La Liga, and to the Association of Spanish Footballers.
Reportedly, the midfielders lawyers claim that he should have received two bonuses in his contract, both at around 1.4 million euros: one for having reached the knockout stages of the Champions League, and one for reaching the quarter-finals of the same tournament.
Moreover, the Chilean deems that he also should have received around 250,000 euros, for the team having won La Liga, reports ABC, with the following excerpt of the player’s complaint.
“The aggregate total [amount] of the preceding amounts adds up to 4,097,500 euros,” the claim reads, before adding that “to date, and specifically for the payroll of June 2019, Barcelona has only paid the amount of 1,693,000 euros in gross, as prizes for [said] titles”. And finally, the midfielder computes “as I have pointed out above, there is a difference owed to me today, of 2,404,500 euros”.
The midfielder then says that he informed the club of the debt through a burofax, and urges the Mixed Committee of La Liga to ‘approve the complaint’ and ‘agree to act on the precise requirements’ stipulated in the official operating regulations.
Barcelona’s side of the story
According to ABC, the Catalan club feels that the player’s sudden demands coincide with his potential move back to Italy, and feels that the player’s sudden rush to receive his reportedly unclaimed bonus is strange.
The club’s legal services department has responded to Vidal’s claims, and told the committee of its perception of the case. Per ABC, the club finds it strange that Vidal waited for six months without ‘politely warning that a mistake could have been made’, referring to the player being quiet about the alleged debt until he closed in on a move away from the Camp Nou.
According to ABC, Barcelona believes that Vidal did not reach the 60 percent of minimum official game time last season, in order for the bonus to be met. The bonus is indivisible, and if Vidal had participated in 60 percent of the official games during the season, the bonus should have been given. Otherwise, it would not be claimable by the Chilean, regardless of the percentage of games in which he had featured, since it would be below the 60 percent minimum.
Moreover, the letter reads “Mr. Vidal’s own actions show that he peacefully accepted the payment agreed upon by the parties, and only now, for reasons that we do not know, which may explain the aforementioned context, the interest [to get paid said bonus] suddenly appears,” reports ABC.
The letter continues, saying that “for six long months, Mr. Vidal has not deemed it appropriate to tell anyone that he disagreed with the interpretation [of the payment of the bonuses]”.
Vidal’s move to Inter Milan seems to edge ever closer, which is a reason for his claim coming at a somewhat suspicious time. Whether it is a misunderstanding from the player and his representatives’ side, which the club deems it is, or not, should be officially determined soon.
