THE BARCAGATE
Barca’s off-field troubles reignited when Spanish police raided the offices of FC Barcelona, arresting four of its officials, including ex-president Josep Maria Bartomeu. Barcelona police are investigating allegations that
Bartomeu had hired a company using the club’s funds to run a defamation campaign against players to shore up his own
What’s the scandal about?
The scandal involves allegations that the club covered up payments made to a company called I3 Ventures, hired to boost the image of Bartomeu on social media. Part of the social media campaign included criticizing current and former players like Messi, Xavi Hernandez and former coach Pep Guardiola. Spanish radio station Cadena Ser, who broke the story, claimed Barca paid I3 Ventures an inflated fee and made payments through smaller, separate amounts to avoid the club’s financial controls.
Who all were arrested?
Bartomeu, who was president from 2014 to 2020, was detained along with his right-hand man Jaume Masferrer. The club’s current chief executive Oscar Grau and its head of legal services Roma Gomez Ponti were also detained but were released late on Monday.
What is the current status?
After spending Monday night at a police station, Bartomeu and Masferrer were released on Tuesday after appearing before a judge investigating the scandal. The two “exercised their right not to speak and the judge granted them conditional release while the investigation continues”.
The ‘fight’ with Messi
The club’s talismanic star sent shockwaves through the footballing world in August when he sent a “burofax”--a service run by Spain’s postal department that legally certifies both the contents of a document and that it was delivered to the intended party--announcing his decision to leave Barcelona using a cause in his contract that allowed him to do so at the end of a season. Messi did not follow through. In December, months after Bartomeu resigned, Messi made his conflict with the former president public when he spoke to a Spanish radio station where he said Bartomeu “started to leak things to make me look like the bad guy” and also that “he (lied) about many things”.
What were the reactions?
Messi described the controversy as “strange” in an interview with Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo.
Bartomeu maintained the company had been hired only to monitor posts on social media. He had announced an internal audit by Pricewaterhousecoopers, which cleared the club of financial corruption in July 2020.
What lies ahead?
Barcelona has been managed by a caretaker board since Bartomeu left. His successor is due to be elected on Sunday.