The previous board at the FC Barcelona, led by the club’s former president Josep Maria Bartomeu, is reported to be under investigation by the prosecutor’s office, this is according to AFP on Friday.
The investigation is said to be a result of a complaint filed on Wednesday by the current Barcelona board and its president Joan Laporta. The prosecutor’s office in Barcelona launched the investigation on Friday and is looking into economic crimes. The Ministry of Justice is said to have told the AFP through their sources
The club’s current board filed their complaint on the basis of findings in the club’s ‘forensic report’, with the aim to analyse the financial management of the club under Bartomeu and determine if there were signs of irregularities. According to the FC Barcelona statement on Wednesday, the results would be announced by Laporta on Tuesday, along with “the actions already initiated by the club consisting of filing a complaint with the Barcelona Prosecutor’s Office as a result of the forensic report.”
FC Barcelona’s president Josep Maria Bartomeu during a press conference
The club was said to be bankrupt, this is based on an internal audit presented in October, the club’s general director, Ferran Reverter, said Barcelona was bankrupt, with the clubs total debts amounting to €1.35 billion. Bartomeu resigned in October 2020 after mounting pressure from supporters and the public falling out with star player Lionel Messi, who left for Paris Saint-Germain last summer when the club could not afford to renew its contract.
Under Bartomeu leadership, huge amounts are reported to have been spent on buying players like Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele, who have failed to impact the team, while they declined dramatically, Barca’s previous board investigated by the prosecutor’s office
The previous board at the FC Barcelona, led by the club’s former president Josep Maria Bartomeu, is reported to be under investigation by the prosecutor’s office, this is according to AFP on Friday. The investigation is said to be a result of a complaint filed on Wednesday by the current Barcelona board and its president Joan Laporta. The prosecutor’s office in Barcelona launched the investigation on Friday and is looking into economic crimes. The Ministry of Justice is said to have told the AFP through their sources.
Lionel Messi and Neymar in a past match at Barcelona/Getty Images
The club’s current board filed their complaint on the basis of findings in the club’s ‘forensic report’, with the aim to analyse the financial management of the club under Bartomeu and determine if there were signs of irregularities. According to the FC Barcelona statement on Wednesday, the results would be announced by Laporta on Tuesday, along with “the actions already initiated by the club consisting of filing a complaint with the Barcelona Prosecutor’s Office as a result of the forensic report.”
The club was said to be bankrupt, this is based on an internal audit presented in October, the club’s general director, Ferran Reverter, said Barcelona was bankrupt, with the clubs total debts amounting to €1.35 billion. Bartomeu resigned in October 2020 after mounting pressure from supporters and the public falling out with star player Lionel Messi, who left for Paris Saint-Germain last summer when the club could not afford to renew its contract.
Under Bartomeu leadership, huge amounts are reported to have been spent on buying players like Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele, who have failed to impact the team, while they declined dramatically, culminating in an 8-2 humiliation at the hands of Bayern Munich in August 2020.
The club was founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, Spanish, German and English footballers led by Joan Gamper, the club has become a symbol of Catalan culture. Unlike many other football clubs, the supporters own and operate Barcelona. It is the fourth-most valuable sports team in the world, worth $4.76 billion, and the world’s richest football club in terms of revenue, with an annual turnover of €715.1 million. The official clubs anthem is the “Cant del Barça”, written by Jaume Picas and Josep Maria Espinàs. Barcelona traditionally plays in dark shades of blue and red stripes, hence nicknamed Blaugrana.
Former Barcelona legend Samuel Etoo/ Getty Images
The team has won a record 75 trophies: 26 La Liga, 31 Copa del Rey, thirteen Supercopa de España, three Copa Eva Duarte, and two Copa de la Liga titles, as well as being the record holder for the latter four competitions. In international club football, the club has won twenty European and worldwide titles: five UEFA Champions League titles, a record four UEFA Cup Winners’ Cups, a joint-record five UEFA Super Cups, a record three Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, and three FIFA Club World Cups.
Barcelona was ranked first in the International Federation of Football History & Statistics Club World Ranking for 1997, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015, and occupies the seventh position on the UEFA club rankings as of 2021. The club has a long-standing rivalry with Real Madrid, and matches between the two teams are referred to asona is one of the most widely supported teams in the world, and the club has one of the largest social media following in the world among sports teams. The team has won a record twelve Ballon d’Or awards, with recipients including Johan Cruyff, as well as a record seven FIFA World Player of the Year awards, with winners including Romário, Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho.
Former Barcelona legend, Lionel Messi/Getty Images
In 2010, three players who came through the club’s youth academy among Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta and Xavi were chosen as the three best players in the world in the FIFA Ballon d’Or awards, an unprecedented feat for players from the same football academy. Additionally, players representing the club have won a record eight European Golden Shoe awards. Barcelona is one of three founding members of the Primera División that have never been relegated from the top division since its inception in 1929, along with Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid.
In 2009, Barcelona became the first Spanish club to win the continental treble consisting of La Liga, Copa del Rey, and the UEFA Champions League, and also became the first Spanish football club to win six out of six competitions in a single year, by also winning the Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup. In 2011, the club became European champions again, winning five trophies. The team won fourteen trophies in just four years under Pep Guardiola, is considered by some in the sport to be the greatest team of all time. By winning their fifth Champions League trophy in 2015, Barcelona became the first European football club in history to achieve the continental treble twice.
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