Futbol Club Barcelona’s president, Josep Maria Bartomeu can clearly see how the club's board of directors has completely blown up and he’s lost his old strength.
Six directors have resigned after BarçaGate, an operation of defamation of both rivals and club players carried out by 13 Ventures and funded by Barça itself, to strengthen the board of directors’ position. Internal disagreements deepened due to a mandate centred around the president’s instructions.
The club, far from facing the consequences, has shielded itself with another brief communication — as usual — to defend its position. Firstly, it has threatened Emili Rousaud with a lawsuit for accusation of corruption and, secondly, it has announced that there will be a remodelling of the board: "The resignations of the board members announced in the last hours have taken place as result of the board’s reshuffle launched by president Josep Maria Bartomeu this week, which will be completed in the next days". An urgent reshuffle is underway, while the I3 Ventures case audit is nearing its end.
EFE
However, FC Barcelona has explained that it intends to change and replace positions to "face the last leg of the mandate with maximum guarantees ". Therefore, there is no resignation of the president nor any elections on the horizon. It seems that the culés, in spite of the indignation, will have to wait for 2021 to conduct a thorough institutional cleaning.
In the same statement, the club specified that the intention is to finish the presidential mandate and follow the plan initiated by Sandro Rosell in 2010, which Bartomeu later took over: "with the aim of implementing the necessary measures to prepare the club’s future, overcoming the current health crisis consequences, and culminate the actions of the management program started in 2010 and the Strategic Plan approved in 2015".
EFE
Bartomeu is left alone
Enrique Tombas and Jordi Calsamiglia have left Bartomeu alone at the helm of the club’s internal control committee. Silvio Elías and Josep Pons, who along with Tombas and the president were members of the economic committee, have also left. Finally, the institutional vice-president Emili Rousaud, who was also a member of the awards committee, and Maria Teixidor, the general secretary of the board, have resigned. In total, since he became president, Bartomeu has already lost 11 directors.
However, the question everyone is asking at this point is who will be left in this split Blaugrana board. We will take it one step at a time because of the 19 directors present two days ago, now 13 remain:
- Josep Maria Bartomeu - President
- Jordi Cardoner - First Vice President of Barça and the Barça Foundation (since the 2015 elections)
- Jordi Moix - Third vice-president and responsible for the Espai Barça (since the 2015 elections)
- Joan Bladé - Member
- Javier Bordas - Member (since the 2015 elections)
- Dídac Lee - Director responsible for the digital area (since the 2015 elections)
- Josep Ramon Vidal-Abarca - Member
- Pau Vilanova - Member (since the 2015 elections)
- Oriol Tomàs - Member (since the 2015 elections)
- Xavier Vilajoana - Member
- Marta Plana - Member
- Jord Argemí - Member
- David Bellver - Member
Despite the fact that there are 13 members left, they need a minimum of 14 to maintain government. So Bartomeu will have to sign, perhaps more than one director, because others are also considering resignation.