Barcelona reveal former management lost €600 million in two years: “Very dubious operations were detected”

Joan Laporta and his managers spoke in the press conference (h/t Barça TV+) in which he shed light on the forensic investigation of the club’s situation. The investigation aims to reveal how funds have been fraudly used under the former Josep Maria Bartomeu management.

While COVID-19 has hit every big club in Europe, president Joan Laporta explained that the situation at Barcelona is much worse.

“We have detected very dubious operations. All of them have been investigated. An agency investigated and found unwarranted and disproportionate payments,” said the club president.

“What we don’t want is to be complicit in those actions that led Barça to a complicated situation. We have inherited an economic situation with astronomical debt and great losses.”

“We show it because the Socios (club members) have the right to know what the former management did when they ran the club. We filed a complaint to the Prosecutor’s Office. We are here to explain further in detail,” added Laporta.

The club’s economic vice president, Eduard Romeu, took over:

“When we arrived, we quickly found that we had no money and a lot of debts. There was even no money to pay salaries. In two years, Barça lost more than €600 million and of only €135 million of these correspond to COVID-19.”

“We reconverted the debt that was short-term, in order to make it long-term. We had more than €400 million in open litigation, under various trials. And we are trying to solve all these issues,“ said Romeu.

The situation gets even worse when the vice president went on the explain that Bartomeu did not use any of the funds for maintenance on the facilities at all – while this was direly needed in order for the club to grow.

“In 7 years no maintenance was done on the club facilities, which were totally obsolete. Espai Barca will allow the club to grow, to be competitive. We managed to get it voted through a referendum.”

Romeu added: “The salary bill is fundamental. We were 40% above our competitors and that was a completely unsustainable situation. To date, we have already saved €159m from the club’s wage bill.”

“The objective is to put the club in the best situation in the coming two years, and we are convinced of reversing the situation we find ourselves in.”

Lastly, Jamie Campaner, the club’s lawyer who is specialized in economic law, took the word. He explained the steps that the club took after the investigation.

“After everything I found (through the investigation), there is no doubt that we had to go to court.

“We have no doubt that the consequences of the forensic investigation have criminal significance, so the board has decided to bring these facts to the attention of the Prosecutor’s Office. We can face complex economic crime.”

Campaner insisted that the investigation is not in order to target Bartomeu, but rather the club’s properties.

“This is not about purging the previous board; It is about taking the very serious behaviours that have been found to the Prosecutor’s Office. And we accompany evidence, not just words.

“When someone manages someone else’s property, they cannot give away money as if it were their own.

“We are talking about millionaire amounts. There are payments to intermediaries without justification, non-existence, or well above normal. Commissions of up to 33% have been detected, while only up to 5% is normal.

“There is a company that was born solely to work on commissions with Barcelona. Completely artificial accounting benefits were presented that are not the reality of the club.”