BarcelonaJoan Laporta’s board of directors has initiated legal proceedings against the previous board, chaired by Josep Maria Bartomeu. Next Tuesday, in a press conference, the club will present the results of the research work commissioned in order to discover possible irregularities in the management of Bartomeu’s board. When initiating legal action, the board of Laporta confirms that it would have found suspicious transactions, such as hiring different suppliers at prices well above the real market value or a strange management of the Espai Barça project. There are also too high commissions in sports operations under the magnifying glass.
The members of the Barça board received the report at the end of last year, but its public presentation has been postponed. It should be remembered that the so-called Barçagate case already ended up in the courts before the arrival of the current board, when information from Cadena SER made it possible to discover the payment above the market price of services to control the networks, with split bills to avoid the club control commission. Sources in Laporta’s management also emphasize the management of the Espai Barça project, as the institution has spent around 150 million (25% of the initial budget) but has only been executed. 5% of the works. And of this money that has already been invested, as explained by ARA, we do not understand a package of 109 million for works that have a market price of around 50. By virtue of this fractured oversize in small bills to dribble internal controls, Laporta ordered the dismissal of William T. Mannarelli, patrimonial manager during Bartomeu’s tenure.
From the club they remain quite silent in relation to the legal actions taken, but this newspaper has been able to confirm that it is precisely Espai Barça – and in particular the surcharges in certain contracts and compensation to Laietà – one of the issues affected by the complaint to the Prosecutor’s Office. Regarding the payments to Laietà, the entity is being asked what the money was used for (1.5 million paid for alleged nuisance due to dust and noise). This multi-sport club, located next to the Camp Nou, has not undergone many renovations to its facilities. According to the SER and contrasted by ARA, the signing of Malcolm in the summer of 2019 is also one of the issues that have been brought to justice. The Brazilian winger landed at the Camp Nou from Girondins de Bordeaux thanks to the decisive mediation that Júnior Minguella, the son of the famous player representative, who would have charged a commission of 10 million.
Months of work
informs him forensic, a derivative of the due diligence, will be released next week after several months of work. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Barça said that “the results of the research work will be presented publicly on Tuesday 1 February. forensic, which was started as a result of the due diligence with the aim of detecting possible irregularities in the management of the club during the last term. It will also be informed of the actions already initiated by the club consisting of the presentation of a complaint to the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office of Barcelona for facts that derive from the conclusions of the investigation. forensic. The presentation, which will be held at the 1899 Auditorium from 11 am, will be given by the president of FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta ”.
Eleven months after winning the presidential election, Laporta is on the verge of fulfilling his word regarding “clearing responsibilities” on actions that have left the economic legacy he has had to manage. A negative net worth, triggered by the effects of the pandemic, which in August led to the traumatic departure of Leo Messi. The Argentine’s farewell is the best summary of the multifactorial drift that the club has suffered in recent years.
