Behind the crisis at the Nou Camp

The heat in the corridors of the Camp Nou offices went up a few notches with six Barcelona board directors handing in their resignations on Thursday night. A chasm had opened up between club president Josep Maria Bartomeu and his board members resembling hit TV drama series Game of Thrones, as was explained by an ESPN source who also claimed that many in the board were vying to position themselves ahead of the presidential elections next year.

The internal fracture reportedly started in February this year when it was leaked that the club had a relationship with a third-party company, I3 Ventures, that had been discrediting players, potential presidents and club legends on social media. Bartomeu, eager to quell any apparent division, held talks with senior players.

The players, in the media at least, said they believed the explanation that Bartomeu offered, but not before Messi said that he found the situation in Barcelona to be 'weird'. The six-time Ballon d'Or winner had before that come out and hit back at sporting director Eric Abidal for suggesting that players were behind the sacking of former coach Ernesto Valverde in January.

The crisis deepened last month when negotiating a wage cut with the players due to the coronavirus pandemic. Again there were suggestions from the players' side that the board was using local media to transmit lies. Messi said that there were some in the board who "tried to put us under the magnifying glass and add pressure to do something that we always knew we would do" after confirming the players were going to take a 70 per cent pay cut.

When the club's biggest names hit out at the processes and how the club is run, it usually does not bode well for the management. As a result, Bartomeu has decided to re-model his board. According to reports, he asked the vice presidents Emili Rousaud and Enrique Tombas and directors Silvio Elias and Josep Pont to resign.

"To be honest, I feel betrayed by Bartomeu. And what riles me the most is this is not the moment [during Spain's coronavirus-enforced lockdown]. Do it face-to-face, not hidden [behind a phone]," Rousaud told Marca. "And the board is not the most suitable to take on these challenges. Especially a board in complete crisis, with the players confronting them and with fans waving white hankies every home game."

In an explosive interview with Rac1 radio, Rosaud went further the following morning. "I think someone has had their hand in the (club's) till," he said. "You pay one million euros (to I3 Ventures) for a job that has a market price of 100,000 euros. Who? Definitely someone on the board, I don't know who, but you can have your suspicions..."

Meanwhile, Bartomeu increasingly finds himself alone.