BARCELONA president Josep Maria Bartomeu could resign today should a vote of no confidence go ahead, according to reports.
A board meeting is due to take place on Monday ahead of the motion of censure set to be held on November 1 and 2.
Josep Maria Bartomeu could resign from his position todayCredit: EPA
The motion to have Bartomeu removed was started after Lionel Messi tried to quit the club
Bartomeu is facing a fight for his future at the Nou Camp after a motion to have him removed from his position reached 16,500 signatures.
The petition was launched in August following Lionel Messi’s disastrous transfer debacle.
Messi, 33, attempted to force his way out of the club but his exit was blocked by Bartomeu. The club’s talisman opted to stay rather than take the club to court.
Bartomeu and the board of directors were accused of years of mis-management.
Barcelona have demanded that the vote be delayed citing the health of its members amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
But should that be refused by the government, Sport write how Bartomeu is likely to hand in his resignation.
It’s possible that the entire board will resign.
The vote will be held among 154,000 club members with more than 66.6 per cent needed for him to be ousted.
It appears that Bartomeu already knows he will lose the vote.
Sport suggest that Bartomeu’s days are over at Barcelona
The club’s ongoing financial crisis has also heaped pressure on Bartomeu with the club £443million in debt.
The entire squad – bar a few individuals – were put up for sale in the summer in an attempt to balance the books.
This is only the fourth time Barca have tried to oust a president – but the third in 12 years.
Ahead of the vote, star player Gerard Pique voiced his own dismay at how the club has been run.
He said: “I ask myself: ‘How can it be that the best-ever player to have played the game, who we have been lucky enough to enjoy, wakes up one day and sends a burofax [recorded delivery mail] because he feels like he’s not being listened to?’.
“It’s all too confrontational. What’s going on? Messi deserves everything; the new stadium should be named after him first and then the sponsor.
“We should preserve our figureheads, not underappreciate them. It really gets to me.”
Lionel Messi trains with the Barcelona squad
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
