Great drama when Bartomeu drops another bomb before resigning

Seven weeks after Lionel Messi was forced to stay and three days after Barcelona suffered another loss to Real Madrid in El Clásico, Josep Maria Bartomeu is finally gone.

The 57-year-old Spaniard, possibly the most hated president in Barca’s history, announced his resignation Tuesday night, dragging his entire board of directors with him.

“It’s a calm and relaxed decision, according to all my fellow directors,” said Bartomeu, who replaced Sandro Rosell in Barcelona in 2014, in a televised speech.

The measure means that it will avoid the vote of no confidence presented against him by the members of the club. And according to multiple Spanish media outlets, the decision to resign was made after the Catalan government refused to postpone the motion of no confidence until mid-November as the junta had proposed.

More than 20,000 club members signed a motion to remove him, but Bartomeu insisted that he could not have resigned earlier due to the task at hand.

“The easiest thing after the Champions (defeat of the League) was to resign, but decisions had to be made in the midst of an unprecedented world crisis,” he said. “Who would have made sure Messi stayed? Who would have hired a new coach?”

Later, Bartomeu dropped another bomb by revealing that his last action as president was to ratify Barcelona’s participation in a “European Super League”.

“I can announce extraordinary news,” he said beaming. “Yesterday at the board meeting I approved the requirements for us to be part of a European Super League, which would guarantee the future financial sustainability of the club.”

The European Super League is a new project signed by Wall Street bank JP Morgan, with more than a dozen teams from England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain in negotiations to become founding members of the competition.

The BBC said it would see 18 teams compete in a single league with the best teams participating in a tiebreaker to determine an overall winner. Until now, Barcelona was the first major club to confirm their participation.

The latest bold action by Bartomeu and Barça immediately provoked the ire of La Liga president Javier Tebas.

“Unfortunate statement by Bartomeu on his last day about Barcelona entering a weak and imaginary competition that would be their undoing,” he wrote on Twitter. “It confirms his ignorance about the football industry. Sad end for a president with successes and lately many errors.”

The governing body of European football, UEFA, has already publicly opposed the project. “We have made it clear on many occasions that UEFA is firmly opposed to a Super League,” a statement read.

“The principles of solidarity, promotion, relegation and open leagues are not negotiable. It is what makes European football work and the Champions League is the best sports competition in the world,” he added.

In the midst of all the chaos and controversy, Barcelona remains a mess. Earlier this month, the Spanish giants announced losses of 97 million euros (114 million dollars) for the 2019-20 financial year, with debt that doubled to 488 million euros (574 million dollars).

Bartomeu’s departure won’t do much to improve his current situation. But at least, it represents a new beginning.

Bartomeu’s own problem will not end with his resignation either. The Guardian claimed that his board may face civil action holding them personally liable for the budget deficit during the period of his administration since 2014.

Meanwhile, Ronald Koeman, Bartomeu’s appointed coach, could be abandoned aimlessly by the new president after the election.

There could be more drama ahead.