This doesn't bode well for the leave on a free route. There may be more to it than these guys haven't thought of but it looks a minefield City would be mad to get involved in.
Looks like if it will happen, it will be a fee or fee plus players.
Q&A: How strong is Messi’s legal case? Could he be banned or forced to pay €700m?
The Athletic has spoken to Spanish legal experts to better understand what could be the most jaw-dropping legal case in football historyt.co
Id take this with a pinch of a salt. As far as I am aware, no one actually knows how the clause in his contract is constructed. All the lawyers in the world can comment on what they think it might say.