Rosell wants Sala i Martin as advisor

Alex Santos, journalist of Spanish news agency EFE, reports on his blog that during a press conference today, Javier Faus, a member of the board team of Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell, has said that Rosell wants to count on current Barcelona treasurer Xavier Sala i Martín as advisor if he is elected as president.

Rosell wants to form a council of Catalan economists who would give the board advice regarding the finances of the club. Sala i Martín, who's an economy professor at Columbia University in New York and who joined the Barcelona board of directors last year, is one of the names on the list of people Rosell wants to count on.

Read more:
Sala i Martin to leave the club in July
Seven board members continue until 30 June
Rosell has concrete plan to limit club members

Seven board members continue until 30 June

The resignations of Barcelona vice-presidents Alfons Godall, Jaume Ferrer [picture, on the right], Joan Boix and Albert Perrín, and of Barcelona directors Jordi Torrent, Alfonso Castro, Patrick Auset, Magda Oranich, Josep Ignasi Macià and Xavier Bagués have yesterday been accepted during a meeting of the Barcelona board.

The ten members of the board were forced to resign because they will be officially part of a candidacy in the presidential elections on Sunday 13 June. Apart from Godall, who supports former Barcelona marketing and sports vice-president Marc Ingla, all other directors who left are part of the candidacy of Jaume Ferrer.

A board of seven people will now govern the club until 30 June, with president Joan Laporta sports vice-president Rafael Yuste [picture, on the left], secretary Josep Cubells, treasurer Xavier Sala i Martín, and directors Jacint Borràs, Josep Anton Colomer and Maria Elena Fort staying in office. Sala i Martín is expected to leave the club at the end of this term, while the other six support the candidacy of Jaume Ferrer.

Read more:
Sala i Martin to leave the club in July
Ferrer gets new support from board members
Godall resigns as director ahead of the elections

Sala i Martin to leave the club in July

Speaking to Catalan radio station RAC 1, Barcelona treasurer Xavier Sala i Martín has said he will most likely leave the club at the end of the current term: "The most probable thing is that I won't be part of any candidacy, that is at least the plan at this moment. So I will go home on 30 June. I will keep on doing the same things I'm doing now, except for Barça."

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that Sala i Martín has received offers from the candidacies of Barcelona assets vice-president Jaume Ferrer and former Barcelona marketing and sports vice-president Marc Ingla but that he has decided to stay out of the electoral race and to leave together with Barcelona president Joan Laporta.

Read more:
Sala i Martin considering his position
Ferrer gets new support from board members
Sala i Martin to stay on until end of term

Ferrer gets new support from board members

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that several Barcelona board members have joined the candidacy of Barcelona assets vice-president and presidential candidate Jaume Ferrer after the latter got the support of Barcelona president Joan Laporta and the majority of the board at the end of March (read more here).

Since the public announcement of his candidacy in December last year, Ferrer could already count on the support of five board members: institutional vice-president Albert Perrín and directors Alfons Castro, Jacint Borràs, Josep Anton Colomer and Jordi Torrent (read more here).

Since then at least four more directors would have given their support to Ferrer: economic vice-president Joan Boix and directors Magda Oranich, Maria Elena Fort and Patrcik Auset. Barcelona sports vice-president Rafael Yuste [picture] is also said to be close to joining Ferrer. Catalan sports paper El 9 Esportiu claims that Yuste will certainly support Ferrer.

Barcelona first vice-president Alfons Godall wouldn't have got a formal offer from Ferrer to be part of his team and has in the meantime joined the candidacy of former marketing and sports vice-president Marc Ingla. Barcelona directors Josep-Ignasi Macià and Xavier Bagués, who supported the candidacy of Godall, wouldn't have been contacted by any of the candidates.

Ferrer would also have offered Barcelona treasurer Xavier Sala i Martín a place in his board team but the latter reportedly didn't yet give his final response. The offer would nevertheless have caused some unrest in the candidacy of Ferrer and would be the reason why a possible big name that would join Ferrer has dropped out.

Read more:
Ferrer: "I know how do this"
French director Auset part of Ferrer candidacy
Ferrer presenting three new team members

Ferrer asks Sala i Martin to join him

Asked about his role in the upcoming elections after the candidacy he was part of has withdrawn (read more here), Barcelona treasurer Xavier Sala i Martín has said that he's thinking about a proposal made by Barcelona vice-president Jaume Ferrer to join his candidacy:

"I don't yet know what I will do and I don't know when I will make a decision. I have an offer of Jaume Ferrer to take part in the elections but I didn't yet decide if i will join him because he has to explain me his program and who are the people of his team.

I think it's crucial that the model continues. The system of Barça has worked well, I have liked it a lot to be one of the fathers of the system and if it's guaranteed that the model continues, I will get involved. If the continuity is not guaranteed, I won't do it."

Read more:
Sala i Martin considering his position
Ferrer invites Godall and Sala to join him
Godall would support candidacy Sala i Martin

Ferrer invites Godall and Sala to join him

Speaking at a seminar at the Pompeu Fabra university in Barcelona yesterday, Barcelona assets vice-president and presidential candidate Jaume Ferrer has invited Barcelona first vice-president and former presidential candidate Alfons Godall and Barcelona treasurer Xavier Sala i Martín to join his candidacy:

"Alfons Godall and Xavier Sala were people who have given a lot for their pre-candidacy. I respect them a lot. Alfons is an honest man and a big Barcelona fan. I respect his decision to withdraw. He must still be in the process of repositioning himself, but if he wants, the door is open to join our team.

And the same goes for Sala i Martín, although I understand that he is thinking about what he wants to do, that he has many doubts and that he is taking some time to analyze things. But if he wants to participate in the management of the club, we would be delighted and we will welcome him."

Read more:
Ferrer doesn't want Laporta to campaign
Who are the people behind Jaume Ferrer?
Ferrer: "Barcelona is a Catalan club"

Ferrer: "Barcelona is a Catalan club"

Barcelona presidential candidate Jaume Ferrer gave an interview to Catalan local radio station Radio Cabrera and Catalan online sports paper Yoya.


You recently said about mister Sala i Martin that he was the reason of the division in the board, because mister Laporta changed his preferences in choosing his successor. What happened?
Xavier Sala became part of the board of directors because president Joan Laporta asked this to us and it's true that after his entrance there were some disagreements in the board. Mainly about how we should deal with the 2010 elections. But I accept it as something normal, everyone should do what they think is best for Barça. So I guess I have nothing more to say, I think I've already talked enough about this subject.

What do you think about Rosell and this attitude of hiding and avoiding to make statements?
Everybody knows mister Rosell and we all know that he intends to stand for election so there's no need for him to say anything until the elections are officially called. He must know for himself how he wants to approach the club member, if that is by talking or not talking. I have in any case a lot of respect for mister Rosell.

Which impulses do you plan to give the club, if you're elected as president, that are linked to the globalization of football?
We must continue with this project. In the sports area, we have to make sure we evolve but we have the best players and team in the world. We want a competitive team to continue the successes of recent years. And to have the best team and the best players in the world, the economic issue is crucial. We need to have enough revenues, profits and cash flow. We will remodel the stadium, build a new Palau, the sports centre for the non-professional sports sections and the sports city for the fans in Viladecans, which we could also export to other places in the world, like Miami, Shanghai or Abu Dhabi. That will have an impact on the club revenues. Given the current state of the world of football, we want to have revenues between 800 and 1.000 million euros in six years.

What role would Laporta have during your presidency? You would offer him a post of representing the club at the international level as has been commented by Godall?
When Laporta ends his mandate on 30 June, he will be the ex-president of Barcelona and he will be treated as such, with the utmost respect. He has to decide himself what he wants to do, but he might re-orientate his life in such a way that he will not have the time or the will to work for Barça.

Would it be possible that a representative chosen by the fan clubs becomes part of the board of directors without having the right to vote?
To become a member of the board of directors you have to take part in the elections, which includes electoral expenses, and you have to put down a very high bank guarantee. There are other formulas to inform the fan clubs and there's no need to have a person within the board of directors. Because then we should also give a place to many other groups that ask that. A person from outside the board is not really needed unless they come by one day to explain a concrete thing.

What do you think about the relation between Barça and politics and the show set up by mister Laporta? What will your position be?
From the start, Barcelona has fully identified itself with the Catalan society. Barcelona is a Catalan club and I share this idea. What we shouldn't do is politics, and the president even less, and we also shouldn't use the club for political promotion. Barça should be inclusive, so that a club member in Cadiz feels as comfortable in the club as a member in Barcelona, but without forgetting who we are and where we come from.

How are you organizing the collection of the signatures? Are you optimistic given you will only have around 14 days?
In fact, I think that we will only have 11 or 12 days. It will be difficult because they are very few days. But we will try to set up an organization within the candidacy that allows us to reach as many members as possible, so that if someone wants to give us his signature, we at least ican get to him so he can give it. We are optimistic but we will have to work hard to get more than 2.000 signatures.

this was the third and last part of this interview.

You can read the previous parts here:
Ferrer: "The easy thing would have been to leave"
Ferrer: "I know how do this"

interview: uri bruguera

Godall would support candidacy Sala i Martin

Barcelona first vice-president and ex-candidate in the upcoming elections Alfons Godall has said on social networking site Facebook that he would support Barcelona treasurer Xavier Sala i Martín if the latter would decide to run for president:

"If Xavier Sala would want to be a candidate in the 2010 elections, I would unconditionally give him my full support. He is qualified, he is big Barcelona fan and he has the motivation and the reason that are needed to be able to win the elections. Xavier, you already know this: if you want it, you can count on me!"

Read more:
Sala i Martin considering his position
Godall doesn't believe in Ferrer-Rosell duel
Sala doesn't exclude future candidacy

Sala i Martin to stay on until end of term

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that seven of the seventeen members of the current Barcelona board of directors will stay at teh club until the end of their mandate on 30 June of this year.

Besides president Joan Laporta, the others would be economic vice-president Joan Boix, sports vice-president Rafael Yuste, board secretary Josep Cubells, director Maria Elena Fort and treasurer Xavier Sala i Martín, who would that way not actively take part in the upcoming elections.

According to Article 38.f of the statutes of FC Barcelona, the members of Barcelona's board of directors who want to present themselves for re-election, should resign and leave their position a few weeks before the elections.

For the board to be able to continue the current mandate until the end of the term at the end of June of this year, the board should at least keep one third of the board members (read more here).

Read more:
Sala i Martin considering his position
Which directors will stay on until June?
Sala doesn't exclude future candidacy

Vice-president Yuste also supports Ferrer

Asked about the majority of the board now giving support to Barcelona assets vice-president Jaume Ferrer in the elections (read more here), Barcelona sports vice-president Rafael Yuste has said in an interview with Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia that he now also supports Ferrer:

"Godall said that he wanted to include Soriano and the president reminded him that there had been agreed that the candidate had to come from within the current board.

Now all members of the board, with the exception of Godall and Sala i Martín, have decided to support Ferrer. We got what we wanted, to have a single board candidacy. We supported Alfons, but Jaume is a candidate who also deserves all our respect."

Read more:
Laporta confirms board support for Ferrer
Vice-president Yuste to leave after elections
Ferrer becomes official continuity candidate

Sala i Martin considering his position

A few hours after the board meeting in which was decided that Barcelona president Joan Laporta would support Barcelona assets vice-president Jaume Ferrer and not Barcelona first vice-president Alfons Godall in the presidential elections on 13 June (read more here), Barcelona treasurer Xavier Sala i Martín, who was part of the candidacy of Godall, put yesterday early morning a note on his Facebook page:

"First of all, thanks to the hundreds of people who have sent me private and public messages to express their concern about my state of mind. I can assure all of you that I am fine. Secondly, I can confirm that some of the stories you've been hearing and reading about Barça are true.

You all know that Alfons Godall had my unconditional support but the circumstances have made it look like as if he will not lead a candidacy. Taking this into account, I feel the freedom to make the decisions that I feel are appropriate and to support that person who I think will serve our club best, if I will in the end give my support to someone.

What is beyond any doubt is that the commitment I have towards president Joan Laporta and the commitment that I have towards all the club members to work with body and soul (and heart) for Barça remains strong and I will continue to work for Barça until the last day."

Later that morning, Sala i Martín commented on the events in an interview with Catalan radio station RAC 1 saying that he didn't yet know what his role in the election process now will be:

"I'm not sure what to do now. My main option was a candidacy of Alfons Godall with the support of Joan Laporta that included others. As this now doesn't seem to be possible, I take the freedom to decide what I will do now. At this moment I cannot say to whom I will give my support or if I will support someone.

It is true that the president has asked me to run, first last Friday, and Saturday again. But I said no, that my option was the one I was part of. I explained him my reasons, but I basically refused because Laporta leads the laportism and Sala i Martín should lead the salaimartinism and because of intellectual coherence I've said no.

Will I just stay until the end of the season and then leave? That has always been and is an option. I don't know what I will do. What I do know is that I want to thank Joan Laporta for giving me the chance to be part of this board that has created the best Barça in history and to be a witness of those great successes.

Because of my commitment towards Joan Laporta and the club members I will fulfil my task with heart and soul until the end, that is guaranteed. What I will do after 30 June is something I don't yet know."

Read more:
Laporta confirms board support for Ferrer
Godall not leaving electoral race
Sala doesn't exclude future candidacy

Ferrer becomes official continuity candidate

Yesterday evening at 7 pm, Barcelona president Joan Laporta organized an emergency board meeting at the offices of his law firm in Barcelona. The point of discussion were the results of polls carried out by the candidadcy of Barcelona first vice-president Alfons Godall and by the club.

The polls showed that it would be difficult for Godall to win the elections on his own, that Barcelona economic vice-president Ferran Soriano was doing better than him and that a joint candidacy of Godall and Soriano, led by the second, would win the elections in June. After been informed about the results, Godall told Laporta during the weekend that he didn't want to continue as candidate.

Godall yesterday repeated that he would not lead a candidacy that would not be supported by Soriano and that he would accept Soriano to head the project, something that was opposed to by Laporta and Barcelona assets vice-president Jaume Ferrer. The president, who also would not have been happy with the way of campaigning of Godall over the last weeks, withdrew his support for Godall.

Laporta, who did not want to support Soriano leading a candidacy with Godall, then proposed to Barcelona treasurer Xavier Sala i Martín to run for president. After Sala i Martín rejected the offer, as did Barcelona economic vice-president Joan Boix, Laporta decided to give his support to Ferrer, who wants to continue with an own candidacy without making a deal with Soriano.

Laporta after the meeting personally called with the board members who could not be present, among which vice-president Albert Perrín and directors Magda Oranich and Patrick Auset, to explain them what had been discussed and decided. Almost all directors would now support Ferrer.

sources: rac 1, sport, efe, el mundo deportivo, el 9 esportiu, la vanguardia

The Quote: Xavier Sala i Martin

"What would I do if someone offered us 1.000 million for Messi? Barça is not a company that should make profits but a factory of emotions, and emotions are not for sale. Not even for 1.000 millions."


Xavier Sala i Martín,
Barcelona treasurer

read more election quotes here

The Quote: Jaume Ferrer

"We all know Xavier Sala, both here and in America, and we know he talks too much which makes that many times he's hard to believe."


Jaume Ferrer,
Barcelona assets vice-president and presidential candidate

read more election quotes here

The Quote: Jaume Ferrer

"At first, the president wanted Sala i Martín. Godall is the second option."


Jaume Ferrer,
Barcelona assets vice-president and presidential candidate

read more election quotes here

Godall candidacy has positive polls

Asked about the polls indicating that Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell is currently the favourite ahead of the elections (check some poll results here), Barcelona treasurer Xavier Sala i Martín has said in an interview with Catalan radio station Catalunya Ràdio that the candidacy of Barcelona first vice-president Alfons Godall has other poll results:

"All there is now are estimations. The elections haven't yet been called, you don't know who the candidates will be. We'll see what happens when the elections will come closer. There are surveys that say that Sandro is in the lead. I have polls that say it's not like that, that there are others who are in the lead.

And there are indeed also polls that say that the people who want to continue with this project are in the lead and could win the elections. And the reason is simple: the people aren't stupid and in the end they see that things are going well and that this is not the time for changes and experiments. We will see what will happen."

Read more:
Soriano carrying out election poll
Poll Rosell confirms his big lead
Guixa carrying out own election poll

Sala doesn't exclude future candidacy

Asked about the rumours that he still could be a candidate in the upcoming elections for president of FC Barcelona (read more here), Barcelona treasurer Xavier Sala i Martín has rejected this possiblity in an interview with Catalan radio station Catalunya Ràdio but didn't exclude he will run for president in the future:

"Xavier Sala i Martín will certainly not be a candidate, meaning the number one of a list, in the elections of 2010. And I'm talking about 2010, not about the future. I don't want people to bring this up later and say that Sala i Martín in the past has said this or that...

The rumours about Alfons Godall supposedly not wanting to get to the end and about a change in the leadership are spread on purpose to scare the people by saying that Alfons doesn't want to continue. But Alfons Godall will go on until the end. He is very motivated, so that is guaranteed."

Read more:
Sala wants to attract sponsor for Unicef logo
Ferrer has biggest media impact
Could Sala i Martin still be a candidate?

Could Sala i Martin still be a candidate?

Speaking at an event organized by Spanish sports weekly paper Don Balón, Barcelona assets vice-president Jaume Ferrer has said last week that he thinks it's still possible that Barcelona tresurer Xavier Sala i Martín will in the end run for president:

"I'm not totally convinced that Sala i Martín won't head the candidacy that is now led by Godall. In fact, it's still an option, because there are several months or weeks left during which he can become the candidate."

Read more:
Sala still didn't exclude being a candidate
Soriano could lead united board candidacy
Laporta: "I believe in Sala i Martin"

Sala wants to attract sponsor for Unicef logo

Speaking to Catalan radio station RAC 1 at a conference about sports leadership in Barcelona yesterday, Barcelona treasurer Xavier Sala i Martin has launched the idea that the candidacy led by Barcelona first vice-president Alfons Godall could close a commercial deal with a firm to sponsor the Unicef logo on the club's shirts:

"We have already talked with a company that would want to sponsor, not the shirt of Barça, but that would want to pay so Barça can continue with Unicef on the shirts.

They could then use this is their own marketing campaigns saying that they are the ones that make it possible that Barça continues to be the club of the children around the world through Unicef.

But so Barça would keep on playing with Unicef on the shirts and for us this would be another way to make profitable the co-operation with Unicef, that in my opinion is already profitable as far as the image of Barça in the world is concerned."

Read more:
Sala: "Presidential transfers are against our model"
Ferrer has biggest media impact
Sala: "Rosell wants to sell us a product"

Ferrer has biggest media impact

A study by the Economics, Sport and Intangibles Research Group of the University of Navarra in Spain shows that Barcelona assets vice-president Jaume Ferrer is the presidential candidate who so far has got the most attention of the media.

As far as the period April 2009-February 2010 is concerned, Ferrer has received 25% of the media attention. Former sports vice-president Sandro Rosell and current first vice-president Alfons Godall are second and third in the ranking, with respectively 23,5% and 22,6%.

Barcelona treasurer Xavier Sala i Martín (9,8%), former economic vice-president Ferran Soriano (8,3%) and presidential candidates Jaume Guixà (6,6%) and Agustí Benedito (4,1%) are the other people who were included in the study. It should also be noted that the media impact of Barcelona president Joan Laporta was three times as big as that of Ferrer.

The study does not only take into account the appearances of the candidates in the traditional media but also includes the mentioning on websites, blogs and so on. The research group plans to follow the Barcelona elections and to measure the media impact of the candidates during the whole campaign.

Read more:
Ferrer: "Focus on America, Asia and Africa"
Media mogul rejects election involvement
Marketing expert: "It will be an Obama-type campaign"