What did the president know and when did he know? The question that crowned the Watergate investigation now plans on Josep Maria Bartomeu, president of FC Barcelona, for the so-called Barçagate , the hiring of a company, I3 Ventures, dedicated to improving the public image of the leader and associated with defamatory accounts in the social networks against players and opponents, among others. The crisis has reached the board of directors after passing through the press room and the sports city waiting for the meeting convened for Friday at the Camp Nou.
Judging by journalistic criticism and some media surveys, the explanations of the Barca president did not convince public opinion after his intervention on Tuesday during the delivery of the Vázquez Montalbán Prize, when he said: “Barça has not hired to any service to discredit anyone, or any player, or any politician, or any manager or any ex. It is outright false. ”
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Nor did he convince the staff, let alone Captain Leo Messi: “He told us the same thing he made public. It's weird that such a thing happens. They said there is evidence. We will have to wait to see if it is true or not, ”he told Mundo Deportivo.
And they were not very convincing in the delegated commission meeting Wednesday with the presence of Bartomeu; Vice Presidents Jordi Cardoner, Jordi Moix, Enric Tombas and Emili Rousaud, the general director Òscar Grau and the secretary of the board Maria Teixidó. Several executives feel not at all, especially since the creation of the presidency area in 2018 directed by Jaume Masferrer, and they demand explanations about operations they did not know, such as the existence of accounts linked to the company I3 Ventures from which they attacked partners, soccer players and personalities related to Barça. It still hurts them more to ignore the conditions of the contract and especially the final amount, which is slightly less than one million euros (198,000 for the five years initially agreed, until 2021, give a figure of 990,000 euros), an amount that is considered out of the market and right now the debate is centered on the Barça meeting.
Carlos Ibáñez, director of I3 Ventures and Nicestream, interviewed in Catalunya Ràdio, confirmed the amounts: “We have collected 198,000 euros per year and we have been serving the club since November 2017”. The contract, effective since 2019, has been terminated by direct order of Bartomeu. “I would have done the same,” said Ibáñez, and then argued for the services that his company provided to Barça. “The job was never to create negative or positive content. Our task was to monitor all the activity of the Barça accounts and everything that has to do with Barça. We do not generate content. And the report that circulates about a campaign to discredit Victor Font [aspiring to present his candidacy for the 2021 elections] is not ours, he has not left our company, it is false. ”
When asked about the Facebook account Respect and Sport, one of the six network accounts that could be related to defamatory messages, said: “The account is not ours; We only register a domain. It is as if you have a garage and rent a place to someone, but the car is not ours. It is an account that generates opinion, but does not insult, does not apologize for the crime, nor publishes false news. ” Ibáñez insisted that the other five channels attributed to them are not his; "They are one of many that are being monitored." And he admitted: "We committed a fault by not informing our client of certain aspects", a circumstance that supports the termination of the contract and the consent of Ibáñez.
The director of I3 Ventures concluded, in tune with some board members: “I understand that we are ammunition to attack the board; it's been attacking for a long time. There is an intention to serve all this as part of a pre-campaign process. It is an operation with political intent, it is not spontaneous. I want to think that the partner will not swallow it. ”
Ibáñez's arguments did not calm the tension in the Camp Nou. Bartomeu saves time while delimiting responsibilities with a view to Friday's meeting. There are two issues that are presented capital and are unresolved: One: Why did the club not follow up on the accounts or intervened when it had long been warned of its content? - Some accounts have already changed curiously administrators since the case broke out. And two: Why the payment of the contract was divided into payments of less than 200,000 euros, an amount that does not need to be approved by the Delegated Commission? The amount and the form of payment have caused serious tensions in the area of finance of the club - the departure of the director Montserrat Font is considered alien to the conflict - and polarize the discussions of the board chaired by Bartomeu.
Some managers understand that, after all, Barça has acted like many other clubs, but unlike the others, a contract that had as its purpose the reputation of the club has become quite the opposite due to bad practice and the investment, more than debatable, as well as the possible filtering of documents from within. Bartomeu is aware that while his opponents ask him for electoral advancement, some of his teammates threaten not to support a continuity candidacy, as was his intention, if a crisis that refers to a question is not resolved before. What did the president know and when did he know?
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