Barcelona’s situation goes from bad to worse thanks to their president

Barcelona president looks to consolidate power ahead of next year’s elections.

As a team, Barcelona has been disjointed the past few seasons. As an institution, the club has been a mess ever since Sandro Rosell took over. Not much changed when Josep Maria Bartomeu took over.

With the next presidential election coming up in about a year’s time, the current club president sent shockwaves through the boardroom as he has asked for the resignation of various board members including some from his inner circle.

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According to Mundo Deportivo, among those he no longer counts on includes vice president Emili Rousaud.  This is especially surprising considering he was thought of Bartomeu’s right-hand man and a candidate for president to keep the current board in charge.

Initially, Rousaud said that he did not plan to step down but later changed his tune saying he would be willing to step aside but only at the next board meeting.

When asked why he believes Bartomue sought his resignation, Rousaud believes it had to do with the fact that he came out strongly after the scandal with the social media accounts targeting current and former Barcelona players as well as Victor Font, a candidate for club president.

The dysfunction at the top does not seem to stop even amid a stoppage in play because of a pandemic. It’s been this board’s calling card for a while now and magnified because results on the pitch have declined significantly this season.

Jordi Mestre, the club’s former vice president until he resigned in 2009, believes the boardroom is divided and attributes it to one of the reasons why he left.

"“It’s a divided board. I saw it before and that’s why I left. We didn’t all eat from the same plate. That was clear. Now this has exploded and it doesn’t surprise me at all. I saw different sectors within the board which are irreconcilable, for me. It’s a serious thing.Source: Sport"

According to Sport, Bartomeu wants a more united board and believed that Rousaud and others were more interested in their own futures and less on the club’s. He wants complete unity heading into his last year as president.

What is important to note is he cannot remove them from the club. The ones he has singled out can either resign of their own free will or will simply be removed from their current positions and be assigned elsewhere.

Bartomeu’s gambit speaks of a man who knows he is in deep given the constant criticism directed towards him and with the team’s lack of success in Europe. The €100 million-plus failed signings, losing Neymar and the disconnect between the players and the board leave him in a vulnerable position.

One could rightfully argue that those are of his own making and they would be correct. It also speaks of a man who is obsessed with his legacy. Remember, when he and Rosell took over, one of their goals was to get away from the legacy of Joan Laporta and prove they could build something better.

Because of the team at the time and players hitting their prime, they were able to hang on to that success on the sporting side. With most of those players gone or getting older, their lack of planning has been laid out for all to see.

Getting rid of Rousaud, the man chosen to carry on the work of the current board was surprising. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see who the next successor is and if more calls for resignation are on the horizon.

A club like Barcelona need a sense of direction and consistency. Something they have not gotten with this board full of turmoil.