Barcelona ‘might go bankrupt’ after coronavirus, says would-be president Font who blasts board for ‘moral decay’

A BARCELONA presidential candidate has declared the club are heading towards “economic bankruptcy” as the war off the field goes on.

The Catalan giants are in turmoil behind the scenes as the search for a new president reached boiling point.

Victor Font has spoken out over the club’s fiances

Barca are looking for a new president to replace Josep Maria Bartomeu (right)

Josep Maria Bartomeu is heading into the final year at the Nou Camp because, after two terms at the helm, rules state he cannot stand again in 2021.

Victor Font, leader of the Si al futur group, is just one of the names hoping to take the hot seat and resolve the ongoing mess.

And he has spoken out by revealing the true state of the club which has been worsened by the financial restrictions of the coronavirus.

In a lengthy open letter to board members and the media, it read: “For some time now the project Si al futur has been warning Barca members that the club was heading towards the ‘perfect storm’ – it had to replace the best generation of footballers in history.

“And all this had to be done while preserving the ownership of the club in the hands of the members and its competitive capacity both in football and in all sections.

“If the risks were great, they have now become gigantic. We are in the midst of a pandemic that has brought the planet to a halt and will have effects in all walks of life, also in sport, that today we cannot yet foresee.

“Likewise, for months we have witnessed a shameful escalation of chapters in the club’s institutional behaviour in which the latest event hides the seriousness of the previous one, a process that culminated in recent days with accusations and serious reproaches among board members, and six abrupt resignations.

The result is the danger of economic bankruptcy and moral decay.

Victor Font

“And just as the only priority should be to get the club out of the crisis, the presidency announces a new remodelling of the board of directors in order to stay in power. What is at risk now is Barca as a whole.

“This is not a recent problem – we have experienced the sentencing of the club in the Neymar case, the disagreements made public between employees and players with executives and managers, and the audit of the case on social networks, which seems will confirm the scandal.

“Let’s add an erratic sports policy, the breaking up of the board of directors and the significant reduction in income due to the pandemic, and the result is the danger of economic bankruptcy and moral decay in which the club has settled. Game over.”

A huge power struggle inside the club’s hierarchy sensationally led to six board members handing in their resignations last week.

Former vice president Emili Rousand dropped yet another big bombshell with allegations of corruption.

Barcelona came under fire earlier in the season when they were forced to deny claims they paid a PR firm to attack star players.

It was suggested that Barcelona worked alongside I3 Ventures to damage the image of Messi, Gerard Pique, former players and potential presidents – with the Argentine icon stating he found it “strange”.

Then in February, Messi hit out at ex-defender and director of football Eric Abidal over comments regarding some players’ commitment and effort around the time of Ernesto Valverde’s sacking.

And more recently, the players and board have been in conflict again over the handling of the wage cuts in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Barca’s players agreed to a 70 per cent pay cut but hit out at senior figures within the club for unfair pressure to agree, even though they were happy to oblige anyway.

Since then, the reigning LaLiga champions took action to put their non-playing staff on furlough and they will now be paid 70 per cent of their wages by the government.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk