Josep Maria Bartomeu has officially resigned from his position as president of FC Barcelona. The board members will step down with him.
In a press conference on Tuesday evening, the Barcelona president said “I’m here to announce the resignation of myself and the entire board”.
He also stated that the Catalan government have told the club that the pandemic would not hinder the club from holding the vote of no-confidences. That confirms yesterday’s reports that the president would resign if Catalan authorities allowed the vote of no-confidence to go ahead.
A temporary board will now be responsible for running the club until a new board is elected. The club will set a date for the election within the next 40 to 90 days (article 35.4).
Resigning or not, Bartomeu might not have been many weeks away from being forced to leave the club regardless, as a campaign to get him removed gathered over 20,000 signatures. The campaign triggered a final vote of no-confidence, which is now no longer necessary.
In the coming months, an election will be scheduled. Victor Font has already announced that he’s running. Agustí Benedito, Lluís Fernàndez and Jordi Farré have also announced that they’re running. Former Barcelona president Joan Laporta is also expected to run.
Josep Maria Bartomeu was appointed president back in 2014, to finish Sandro Rosell’s term, who stepped down. He was then re-elected in 2015 after a very successful 2014/15 season where Barcelona won the treble.
Through 2020 the pressure from Barcelona supporters has only grown bigger and bigger. Chants asking the President to resign have been heard around the Camp Nou on multiple occasions.
The beginning of the end for Bartomeu started when Leo Messi told the club that he wanted to leave. Messi also criticised Bartomeu heavily in an interview with GOAL.
