offpitchFC Barcelona’s former president Josep Maria Bartomeu presented his precandidacy for the upcoming elections with the slogan ‘Bo per al Barça’ (‘Good for Barça’).
Bartomeu noted that during his presidency the club had to work under difficult conditions, but that it has reached its objective, “being leaders in the field of sports, between the football section and the other sections we have won more than 50 titles.”
Now he presents himself as a person hoping to win the socís’ trust, “to close a winning cycle while opening another one just as successful without making noise. An hour after winning the final in Berlin I went down to the dressing room and the players were already talking about winning the European Supercup and the Club World Cup. There’s a great atmosphere and that makes me optimistic.”
Bartomeu recalled, with both pride and irony, that Barça is the team that has “a trident and a treble.”
He also noted that Barcelona is “the first club in the world to reach an income of €600 million.” He also said that his team is formed by “people who are dedicated to our country and our culture” with actions to their credit such as participation to the Concert for Freedom, or ensuring that the Via Catalana passed through the Camp Nou.
He also noted the importance of the “Espai Barça” project which was “approved by more than 62 percent of the socis. It’s the project of this generation.”
Barça has become “a global club, loved around the world,” Bartomeu asserted, adding that along with his board, they are in an “enviable situation but this project has just started. We want to keep working so that Barça will carry on being a leader.”
Bartomeu highlighted his decision to move up the elections by a year, at a time when the team was in crisis: “That pacified the club and we managed to reach the treble. I thank everyone who put their differences aside thinking of the club first.”
In subsequent remarks, he was less concrete about the aspects of his sporting project, saying that “We will reinstate the figure of the technical director,” explaining that “the name of the technical director wasn’t agreed upon with Luis Enrique, but it was a good thing that the Barça coach renewed his contract because that ended the speculations about him and proved his devotion to the club.”
He believes that Luis Enrique should not be involved in the campaign debate: “He’s on vacation now and he has to rest. Upon his return he has to dedicate himself to football and his players.”
Bartomeu also spoke of the situation regarding Neymar’s signing and the new case that was opened recently. “This is an unfair situation. We will keep on defending the player because things were done well. I’ve always maintained that the first Neymar case will end in nothing, now there is a new one. The important thing is that, despite some people having a problem with this, Neymar is playing for Barça and will keep doing so for some years. Jurists and scholars have told us that things were done right, that there is no crime. And in any case, we only did what the club’s consultants in terms of fiscal matters have advised us to do.”
“We’re presenting ourselves to these elections with a club that is the leader in every aspect: economic, patrimonial and social after turning the club around in all of these aspects,” Bartomeu said. “Besides the sporting part, in 2010 the situation was unsustainable. There was no money and salaries weren’t paid and the debt was over €400 million. We’re doing things properly, with responsibility. I don’t know if we are favorites, but I see that people are very happy, and not just because of the treble, and they’re cheering us on.”
He didn’t want to assume the favorite role: “We’ll see what happens in the elections and which precandidates will participate in the second part of the campaign. I respect every candidacy. We think that we have improved the club in these five years.”
Bartomeu defended the sponsorship agreement with Qatar and its potential extension beyond 2016, saying that “Qatar Airways has been the only one who has presented us with a serious and official offer and the offer has to be presented to the Assembly that has to decide on it in October. If there’s another offer then, the Assembly will analyze them. We have searched for more offers, we have contracted a company that specializes in this aspect and our executives are still working on this. The other offers are inferior and don’t even reach the €40 million figure. The market studies have also told us that no company or country avoids associating itself with us because we have Qatar Airways on the shirt now. There’s absolutely no problem. The debate only exists here, locally.”
In terms of promising signings during the campaign, Bartomeu stated that “It’s a good thing. Other candidacies are looking at players and so are we. It’s normal because the campaign is long and some names will pop up. It’s normal and good because that generates excitement for the socís.”
Bartomeu avoided giving any names: “We haven’t finalized anything yet, but during the campaign I’m sure that exciting players will show up. There will be talks, but right now I can’t say anything else.”
About rumored Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba, Bartomeu said: “I’m not inside the club right now and I don’t know what is happening, but I’m sure that people are working. Right now I can’t say if €80 million is a small or big figure.”
Finally, he has avoided turning the campaign into a duel between him and the former president who is running, Joan Laporta. “There are many candidates and I won’t speak of one or the other. I like that there are plenty of options.”
He stated that Laporta “has every right to present himself and defend his ideas. I agree with him on the matters of Cruyff and La Masia, but we must look further than that because we are a club that is the leader in the sport right now and we want Barça to be in the same situation in 2021 [when the president’s term ends], too.”
Bartomeu didn’t want to answer the accusations thrown his way by Laporta: “There is no need for me to reply, what I do know is that I have no intention to create division in the club’s ranks. On the contrary, it has been proven that united, we are unstoppable. Creating division is bad politics.”
He dealt with some of the things Laporta mentioned, however. “He said that La Masia isn’t working, but every year there are players who reach the first team. Relationship with Catalunya? We are Catalanists, like we have proved with the Concert for Freedom at the Camp Nou, or the Via Catalana. We have signed the Pact for the Right to Decide,” he said.
“The club is connected to Catalunya, which is our country, but I will never use it for politics, because I value the club’s economic, political and media independence a lot. And we have extended our joint projects with UNICEF and doubled our yearly contribution,” Bartomeu added.
Asked about Éric Abidal joining Laporta’s candidacy as proposed sporting director, Bartomeu said that the French player is “part of the club’s patrimony, a former player with a lot of charisma” and that he recently represented Barça in the presentation of this summer’s US tour. “But if he decided to join another candidacy that is his decision. I wasn’t surprised, the rumor has been around for days,” Bartomeu added.
