Vote of no-confidence to oust Barcelona president gains steam

Agustí Benedito has picked up the ballot papers for the vote

MADRID, SPAIN – FEBRUARY 13: FC Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu leaves Spain’s High Court on February 13, 2015 in Madrid, Spain. FC Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu attended Spain’s High Court after being impeached by judge Pablo Ruz in his investigation of the Catalan club’s signing of Brazilian player Neymar Da Silva. Bartomeu is suspected OF avoiding an estimated 2.8 million euros in tax. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images) /

Last week, prominent club official Agustí Benedito called for a vote of no-confidence. He revolted against incumbent president Josep Maria Bartomeu to register his protest against the board. But he has officially begun the process now.

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He collected the ballot papers from the offices of Barcelona in the city. But there is only one thing left for him to do. Benedito held discussions with CEO Oscar Grau, club lawyer Gómez Ponti and vice-president Jordi Cardoner but they failed to reach a consensus on the deadline for submission.

Benedito needs 16,570 signatures to hold the vote and he believes that the deadline is on 2nd October. On the other hand, the club believes that the deadline is on 18th September. The two parties need to reach a consensus for this to go through.

But as he initiated the process of the vote of no-confidence, Benedito also continued his campaign against Bartomeu.

In a Q-and-A session with Marca journalists, he slammed Bartomeu again. Here are the excerpts from the interview :

Q) What did you think of the club’s performance in the transfer market?

"A) Everything was a result of improvisation, there was never a coherent strategy. Only Dembele, Paulinho and Semedo have arrived with the money brought in by Neymar’s sale. The issue of departures is also a concern as we asked for 20 million for Munir at the start of the summer yet he has been given away on loan. This is unacceptable management and as a result we have ended up with a worse, less balanced squad. We have nine midfielders, the coach wanted a central defender yet those in power saw fit to purchase another midfielder. We are in a mess, Bartomeu is no longer in control of the ship."

Q) Do you accept the narrative of an inflated market?

"A) We have spent more than 400 million euros on signings since 2015. We just paid 122 million euros for a 20-year-old and have revenues of more than 584 million euros and we are making the complaints that a small team would. If the market is inflated then why aren’t we loading La Masia with talent? We have entered a period with a very strong Real Madrid and a Barcelona that is clearly worse than three years ago. The board has wasted the money that was left to them."

Q) Is the relationship between the team and the board completely broken?

"A) We have already heard public statements of disagreement, the players want to have a competitive team, especially with Real Madrid having entered a very positive cycle that will last for a while given the ages of their players. They have won three Champions Leagues in four years. Our players want to have teammates who can compete against Madrid and Europe’s other big clubs and in a summer when it was necessary to buy these players, we have ended up somehow with a team that is weaker than before."

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Q) Does Bartomeu retain the support of the board?

"A) Clearly there is no unification there with some of the board members very critical of the president’s decisions. I won’t rule out a resignation and an early election."

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