Former Barcelona CEO wanted to sell 49% to foreign investors

On Tuesday, Barcelona saw some shake-up in their administration as Ferran Reverter resigned from the post of CEO. The official word from the club was that Reverter decided to step down due to ‘personal and family reasons’.

But since then, rumours behind his sudden departure have been gaining momentum with new details emerging on the situation. Recent reports indicated that the January signing of Ferran Torres from Manchester City led to a rift between Reverter and Joan Laporta, leading to the resignation.

Now, the reliable Xavi Torres has provided a fresh take on the matter. As per the update from Torres, Reverter decided to step down from the CEO post due to disagreement with president Laporta over the member-owned club model.

Barcelona are among a few elite clubs in the world that do not have private ownership but are instead run by ‘socis’. According to the update, Reverter wanted to move away from this model and sell 49% of the club’s ownership rights to foreign investors.

His reasoning behind the stance was that the Blaugrana risked being left behind by their rivals in European football if they continued with the prevalent ‘soci model.’

However, president Joan Laporta was completely against such a move as he wants Barcelona to remain a fully soci-owned club. This difference in opinion led to the rift between the pair, eventually leading to Reverter stepping down from the post of Barça CEO, claims Xavi Torres.

Reverter was appointed to the role in July last year and he played a crucial role in helping Barcelona navigate through some turbulent times financially. With him now no longer holding the position, a replacement could be announced shortly.