Bartomeu fires back at Laporta, says Barça would have kept Messi and solved fair play issues

Bartomeu rejects the “bankrupt Barça” narrative

Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has taken aim at Joan Laporta’s administration, defending the financial record of his own board and rejecting claims that his leadership left the club in ruins.

Laporta has been re-elected for another term and remains widely credited by supporters for steering Barcelona out of financial trouble. But Bartomeu clearly does not accept the idea that the club’s collapse began and ended with his presidency. That would be too convenient for everyone involved.

Speaking in a recent interview, Bartomeu said his board had not bankrupted the club and argued that Barcelona would have avoided its current financial fair play problems if his team had stayed in office.

“We did not bankrupt Barça. With us, we would have resolved the fair play issue and Messi would have stayed as well,” he said.

He added:

“Barcelona was not ruined at all, that narrative comes from the new board.”

Bartomeu points to profits before the pandemic

Bartomeu said Barcelona was financially healthy during the period spanning his presidency and that of Sandro Rosell, claiming the club was generating profits while also winning trophies.

“During our period, including the presidency of Sandro Rosell and mine, the club generated significant profits and won titles,” he said.

According to Bartomeu, the real damage came later, when the pandemic wiped out revenue from matchdays, retail and other business lines.

“The financial collapse only came with the pandemic, which caused massive revenue losses from stadium closures, stores, and other operations,” he said.

He criticises Laporta over reported losses

Bartomeu was also asked about why Barcelona under-reported its losses in 2021 after Laporta returned to the presidency. He used the question as a chance to attack the current board’s handling of the club’s accounts.

“The club approved €555 million in losses in 2021 but declared only €280 million to the tax authorities. Those were the real losses caused by COVID,” he said.

He then argued that Laporta’s board made a costly error by increasing the reported losses, which he says damaged Barcelona’s Financial Fair Play position.

“Inflating those losses was a major mistake by Joan Laporta’s board. It led to losing Financial Fair Play,” he said.

Bartomeu added:

“Under our management, FC Barcelona would not have lost Financial Fair Play.”

He also said the pandemic-related losses could have been spread over five years, which would have kept the club inside the 1:1 spending rule rather than under the current restrictions.

“COVID losses could have been amortized over five years. The club would have stayed within the 1:1 rule instead of facing the current restrictions.”

Barça Studios and Nike also come up

Bartomeu closed by addressing two other projects tied to Barcelona’s finances: Barça Studios and the club’s partnership with Nike.

He described Barça Studios as a highly attractive asset for investors because of its audiovisual potential.

“Barça Studios was the most highly valued project by investors within FC Barcelona due to its potential in audiovisual content.”

On Nike, Bartomeu said the agreement gave Barcelona ownership of its stores around the world, but added that tensions emerged because the sportswear company resisted the club’s plans to launch its own casual clothing line.

“The agreement with Nike allowed the club to own its stores worldwide. However, there were tensions because Nike did not want the club to develop its own casual clothing line,” he said.