what did the barcelona board actually do thats so bad??
This is going to be a long post, but just because now more than ever I want this board out, I’m going to sit here and write out as much as I can think of right now. Basically, everything under this board has become less about football, less about our values, and more about power and money.
*Note that yes, Rosell resigned, but nothing really changed with that. One left, and his vice president/best friend stepped in to continue, unelected. So when I refer to Rosell, I’m also referencing the current board.
- The best Barcelona in history, the Barcelona that became a reference for world football and became the only club to have ever won a sextuple was under Joan Laporta. The model that built this Barcelona: Cruyff, La Masia, Catalunya, and UNICEF. Rosell gets elected and what happens?
Cruyff, the man who started it all, is stripped of his honorary presidency and pushed away from the club, without question. Cruyff said in an interview with RAC1 that him/Rosell have only spoken once (which was when they took his title as honorary president away) and that him/Bartomeu have not spoken.
They’re killing FC Barcelona B and with that, the whole system gets damaged. Willful neglect of La Masia. They’ve shown this through the fact that Eusebio (FCBB coach) still has a job and continues to get his contract renewed because he’s close with the board, and his results with FCBB (currently sitting just above the relegation zone) are “enough” for them. Meanwhile, the development of youth players is being affected, and our talent can’t improve under his incompetence. What was one of the first things FCB fans said when the transfer ban (we’ll get in to that later) first became a real possibility? “We’ll be fine, we have La Masia!” Barcelona is a club that prides themselves on the world-renowned development of its youth players, and the board is keeping and continues to bring back a man in a position that has an impact who ignores what should be the focus of his job.
The club that wore and sponsored (not sponsored by) UNICEF with pride accepts a sponsorship deal with Qatar Foundation. ‘Qatar Airways’ gets painted across Camp Nou while UNICEF gets relegated to a spot on the back of our shirt.
- Besides Cruyff, there have been several others who have given everything they have to this club only to be greatly disrespected by the board. Two of the biggest and unforgettable examples: (1) Driving Pep Guardiola out and (2) Forcing Eric Abidal out of the club in tears while lying both to him and about him. Some others that are more debatable: Buying Villa for 40 million then selling him to rivals for 5 million. Valdes’ decision not to renew, which was more based on wanting a change of scenery, but he also apparently had problems with the board. Xavi was about to leave, but was able to be convinced into staying another year because he knew we needed him to. And Messi - the greatest player in the world and the man who didn’t ask for more money with his renewal, but simply a team that could compete, a fighting chance for the club that he loves to return those days of glory and happiness once again - is getting more frustrated every day. And even before signing that renewal he had doubts fueled by the board. It was Tito Vilanova, in his last days, who spoke with him and convinced him to stay..
- Of course, the main reason Rosell resigned: The Neymar contract fiasco. He lied and did everything he possibly could to make it the move that started the “Rosell era”. A move he could call his own, one that he thought would pull him out from the shadows of his predecessor’s success and ensure his re-election.. Only to damage the reputation of this club and get us sued for tax fraud. He appeared on live TV and said “Neymar costed 57.1 million euros. Period." Actual costs to date = 10 million in 2011 to ensure the move (confirmed by Neymar Sr), 86.2 million in 2013 for the actual transfer + bonus (confirmed by Bartomeu) and 22 million for the tax fraud case = 118 million, approximately. Also remember that a sum of that money is dedicated to paying Neymar Sr and his company, N&N, every year so he can “scout" Brazilian players for us. (Results apparently connected to that so far btw: Douglas.) And then there’s a bunch of other unconfirmed rumours connected to this deal as well.
- The rising of ultras in Barcelona again. Before Laporta, they were given free tickets to home matches, free transportation to away games, and storage facilities at Camp Nou for their flags and banners. When Laporta was elected in 2003, he formally banned their presence at matches. He fought so hard to keep them away from Camp Nou and distance the club from their violence and their conduct that he was almost killed. They painted death threats outside his house and tried to attack him on more than one occasion. But still, he insisted on “talking less and acting more” to stop them. When they went to Rosell after he was elected, he was willing to compromise. They didn’t just “sneak back in”, he invited them back. He gave them extremely cheap and sometimes even free tickets. This is still happening this season. We’ve paid for tickets so they can attend UCL away matches this year. Two PSG fans were recently stabbed outside of Camp Nou in an area frequented by ultras. And Bartomeu and his board are disobeying Catalan police on this matter.
- The most recent scandal: The transfer ban. The one that, if it does not push elections up, it will hopefully and finally ensure this board will not be re-elected, as it prevents us from making any big signings/promises related to signings used to cover up/distract fans from all the other problems. All of it happened due to the incompetency of the board. FIFA apparently warned the board about the problems related to the Masia players over a year before taking action. The board said they would settle it, but they still did nothing. Then they put the “La Masia No Es Toca” banner up and initially lied about the situation, only to have Bartomeu later admit that it was actually due to ‘administrative errors’. Zubi himself even said yesterday: “Mr. Bartomeu is the one who knew the situation better than anyone, as he was the sporting vice president during that time.” Now, we’re left with a harsh punishment due their mistakes, and people are needing to step up to defend the credibility of probably the best youth academy in the world. The academy that seeks to form not just the footballer, but the person. The academy that is part of why we are més que un club.
I’m sure I’m forgetting things, and there are also probably things that we don’t even know about, but from these alone you should be able to understand.
I also want to add in that I always have and I always will love and stand behind FC Barcelona, no matter what. Nothing could ever change that. If you follow this blog regularly, you’ll know I’m personally not one of those who wishes worse on the club just so the board looks worse, nor do I point at the board and over-exaggerate every single little shortcoming. I probably even try and balance the reasons behind their actions more than I should sometimes actually. But there’s a reason why it has gotten to the point that it has. All of the things listed above are facts. And while we should never lose faith in our team, we can’t be blind to the mismanagement that is having such a damaging affect either. The calls for elections are not because we don’t have faith in our club; they are because we rightfully do not have faith in the current board. They’ve simply gotten away with too much and dodged responsibility for too long.
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