On Tuesday afternoon the global soccer world was sent into shockwaves when reports broke that Lionel Messi had informed FC Barcelona that he intends to opt out of his contract and leave the club.

The club has since confirmed that they did receive the request, which was sent via burofax.

Which begs the question: What on Earth is a burofax?

Well, we are glad you asked! A burofax is a method of business communication, popular in Spain, that allows people to send a secure document that will be recognized in a court or by a third party.

In the United States, we have certified mail or notaries public. In Spain, they use burofax. It’s not necessarily a fax, though it can be. They’ve also added a new form of it as a secure electronic communication that requires a digital signature from the recipient.

It’s a very secure form of business communication, basically. Not just a fax. But that would be more fun if it were just a fax, and if you want to keep up the fax machine memes, I’m not going to stop you.