FC Barcelona President Josep Bartomeu recently sat for an interview with CatRadio.
The Blaugrana President answered various questions regarding the Setién case, his equation with the club’s captain Lionel Messi, and so on.
On the Setién case: “An attempt was made to negotiate an agreed exit, it has been communicated when it is due. It is negotiated with the agents and no agreement has been reached. In the next few days a judge will announce the judgement.”
On the absence of Riqui Puig: “The news have been a exaggerating it quite a bit. Koeman will comment on it after the game. What we talked about was whether he will get minutes and not about whether the coach counts on him or not.”
On the economic state: “The pandemic has caused a lot of income to decline and we have to adapt to the situation, reducing the wage bill. At the moment there is no room for other players to come. The wage bill is at the maximum limit of financial fair play “.
On Suárez: “Luis Suárez is a Barça player and is one of the most important players in the team and he still has a contract.”
On the transfer market: “Barça has enough resources, but before new players come, other existing players have to go out. There are players with whom we are looking for a way out.”
On the Messi case: “As president, I will not enter into any conflict with Messi. He speaks on the pitch. The issue is resolved now, everything that had to be said was said. Messi is the best in history and we want him to continue with us. I am not going to get into any dispute with the captain. What we have to do is support the team and congratulate ourselves that Messi is still with us.”
On the votes of no confidence: “We are still working for the club. We should not speculate now. We have 10 days to set up the table for the vote of no confidence and another 10 days to validate the signatures.”
“The number of signatures has been surprising. The statutes provide for this scenario. We will continue working with maximum transparency and rigor. There are a few days until the end of the market and we are working to create a competitive team for this season. At the moment nobody has any intention of resigning, we have to continue working. The club is not stopping.”
On the number of votes: “It is a high figure. It has surprised us all. It is a democratic exercise and from now on we must form the table of vote of no confidence and be able to validate all the signatures. We will continue working for the club.”
“I’ve seen the team very well, it is an unusual preseason for them. The team plays with a different style, I see what Koeman wants for this year. The players have a lot of ambition.”
