Thursday was clearly a mixed day for Cules across the world following Sandro Rosell’s resignation. Some were glad to see the man step down after ruling the club in an unpopular manner while others were upset that it had come to this. Rosell’s era at the club was full of success clouded with controversy. Only time will tell how Cules will remember Sandro Rosell but for now, his legacy is pretty much tarnished.
Rosell stepped down after it was revealed that a Spanish court judge agreed to hear a lawsuit brought by Barça club member, Jordi Cases, regarding misappropriation of funds concerning Neymar’s signing. Rosell mentioned threats were made at him, regarding his dealings before and during the club along with personal threats made towards him and his family. As much as I disliked the guy, there is no excuse or justification to threaten the man or his family. It was cowardly and I hope whoever were behind it are apprehended and punished.
The writing was on the wall for some time for Rosell with regards to the discontent amongst the fans in how he was running the club. Rosell’s era saw him make unpopular decisions ranging from restricting club membership to sponsorship deals with Qataris, to alleged ties to the Boixos Nois, proposal of building a new Camp Nou, and pursuing the previous administration in court while stripping club icon Johan Cruyff of his honorary role with the club (and failing to timely pay Cruyff’s foundation) which probably is the reason why successful and popular manager Pep Guardiola left the club. As I previously mentioned, it is quite disappointing that this club currently has a cold relationship with Cruyff, Frank Rijkaard and Guardiola who are responsible for the club’s four Champions League titles.
The other negative lasting impact would be the club’s treatment of its players during his time. Abidal was let go rather with many feeling unceremoniously by breaking their word while David Villa was offloaded at a cut rate price. Many also thought the club neglected Thiago and the matter could have been avoided regarding his lack of minutes which triggered a low buyout clause while some believe Victor Valdés will be leaving the club because of this administration. However, themost embarrassing episode occurred recently when one of the Club’s Vice Presidents, Javier Faus, stated that he saw no reason the club should improve Messi’s contract while also referring to Messi as “this gentleman”. Obviously that was an idiotic and a display of lack of respect and affection by the club towards Messi.
Obviously it was not all doom and gloom under Rosell’s helm. The club is also well represented in the social media and the most important element is the success on the pitch. Also, the club’s financial stability seemed to improve albeit some have their doubts as to how bad they inherited financial mess left by the previous regime. The seed of mistrust started from there coupled with reports he was under investigation in Brazil for his ties with former Brazilian Football Confederation president Ricardo Teixeira, his ties with Viagogo which is the only company allowed to resell Barça tickets, allegations of impropriety in the Neymar transfer along with embarrassing sound bites such as no longer making color copies as a way to cut spending all paint a poor image of the president. Rosell promised us transparency as club president and yet nothing was ever transparent when he was in charge.
I could go on and on about Rosell and his presidency but one club member decided that he was done whining and decided to do something about it. Jordi Cases refused to accept how the club was being run and brought legal action against Rosell. There were rumors that the club was going to bring legal action against Cosas but in the end, Rosell bowed out. His legacy will always be a tarnished one full of success and controversy.
The club’s new president is Josep Maria Bartomeu now and it appears he will be around till 2016. He appeared more composed than his predecessor when he addressed the media and even hinted that ties with Cruyff could be improved. However, the idea that he is allowed to remain president till 2016 does not sit well with me. After all, it was Rosell who decried Cruyff’s appointment as honorary president without a referendum by the club members. Yet again, Rosell’s final act smacks of hypocrisy.
The club members decide who should be the president, not the outgoing president. Elections must be held this summer in the same pattern as when former Barça presidents Josep Lluís Núñez and Joan Gaspart both stepped down from the presidency. Barça is a club that belongs to the people. They voted on who should be the president and they should be the ones to decide on who should be the next president.
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