There will be some extra fuel on the fire in Camp Nou. Chairman Josep Maria Bartomeu is doing everything he can to keep Lionel Messi longer, but meanwhile he has other things on his mind: the Spaniard is accused of corruption by the Catalan police.
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The accusation has to do with the so-called ‘Barça gate’, in which Bartomeu allegedly paid an external PR company to clear his own name and cast the opponents’ votes in a bad light. Bartomeu would also have earned from deals that he has concluded on behalf of Barcelona.
According to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, Bartomeu has approved a payment that was up to six times higher than usual. The position of 57-year-old Bartomeu was already questionable, but with this accusation it is getting even hotter under his feet. The supporters in Barcelona want him to leave because he is seen as one of the reasons for the impending departure of Lionel Messi. Due to recent developments, the star player would now have postponed his final decision (for a moment?).
There will be new presidential elections at the Catalan top club in March, but it is still the question whether Bartomeu will remain in the saddle for so long.
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