Asked about the rumours that he has been holding talks with Barcelona presidential candidate Jaume Ferrer and possible candidate Marc Ingla (read more here), former Barcelona vice-president Joan Castells has explicitly denied the contacts in an interview with Spanish news agency EFE:"It's absolutely false that I have been talking with them. If they want to know something about me, they know where they can find me. I'm open for talks with whoever wants that. Later, I will analyze everything. Setting up a candidacy myself? That's difficult now."EFE claims that Castells has been talking with other club members who want to take part in the elections, while at the same time thinking about leading an own candidacy. After weeks of reflection, he would now have excluded the latter.Read more:Former director Castells considering election roleJoan Castells unlikely candidateFormer vice-presidents Ingla and Castells talking
Catalan news site E-notícies claims that former Barcelona vice-presidents Joan Castells (2000-2002) and Marc Ingla (picture - 2003-2008) are holding talks trying to form a joint candidacy ahead of the presidential elections on 13 June.The remaining problem would be that Castells only wants to join Ingla if he can lead the candidacy. Because of the same reason, the ex-director earlier rejected an offer by Barcelona assets vice-president Jaume Ferrer. Castells reportedly also didn't accept a proposal by former presidential candidates Josep Maria Minguella and Jordi Medina to be part of their project.Castells would have told former collaborators about the negotiations with Ingla during a dinner on Monday. He and Ingla would shortly hold a meeting in which they would decide if they will in the end team up. If he doesn't get the support of the team of Ingla, Castells would not take part in the elections, although he could later publicly announce which candidate he prefers.Joan Castells is the 57-year old chairman and chief executive of Spanish mutual insurance company Fiatc. In 2000, he was a pre-candidate in the elections for president of Barcelona but he ended up joining the candidacy of then vice-president Joan Gaspart.
After Gaspart won the elections, Castells was appointed as economic vice-president of the club. In December 2002, Castels resigned as first vice-president after Gaspart refused to call early elections. In the 2006 elections, Castells decided not to run and supported pre-candidate Jordi Medina.Read more:Former director Castells considering election roleSoriano confirms support for InglaFormer vice-president Castells unlikely candidate
Asked about a possible participation in the elections for president of FC Barcelona in June (read more here), former Barcelona first vice-president Joan Castells has said in an interview with Catalan local television station Teletaxi TV that he is looking at the options, but that there is little chance he will be a candidate himself: "At this moment, I have spoken with a lot of people and I don't exclude anything, but there is a probability of no more than 20 percent that I will run in the elections. On the other hand, if another candidacy would make me an offer, I would analyze it."Joan Castells is the 57-year old chairman and chief executive of Spanish mutual insurance company Fiatc. In 2000, he was a pre-candidate in the elections for president of Barcelona but he ended up joining the candidacy of then vice-president Joan Gaspart.
After Gaspart won the elections, Castells was appointed as economic vice-president of the club. In December 2002, Castels resigned as first vice-president after Gaspart refused to call early elections. In the 2006 elections, Castells decided not to run and supported pre-candidate Jordi Medina.Read more:Former director Castells considering election roleLlaurado close to renouncing his candidacyOpposition figure offered place in candidacy
Asked about the rumours that he could again run for president of FC Barcelona in the upcoming elections (read more here), former Barcelona vice-president Joan Castells has confirmed in an interview with Spanish television channel TVE that he is analyzing how he could take part: "I'm sincerely thinking about it, together with other people who helped me in the Barça elections before. We are discussing if, seeing how the situation is now, we really want to do something or support someone, because we have received proposals. We sat around the table but at this moment nothing concrete has been decided.I think we are a group of people with a lot of experience and knowledge about the world of football. We could add something, there are several options and we are looking at the issue. Talks with Rosell, Ferrer, Godall? Well, we are talking with a lot people.We think it might be a good moment. As far as I'm concerned, because of the age I have, if I don't do it now, I will probably never do it again. Because you should also take into account that the mandates will now be for six years and who knows what will happen then.Barcelona is a very important club in the world so you need people who have a certain knowledge about things, who know the club from inside, who know how to deal with the pressure. So we could work together, participate, help other people. Or lead an own candidacy. But nothing has been decided."Joan Castells is the 57-year old chairman and chief executive of Spanish mutual insurance company Fiatc. In 2000, he was a pre-candidate in the elections for president of Barcelona but he ended up joining the candidacy of then vice-president Joan Gaspart.
After Gaspart won the elections, Castells was appointed as economic vice-president of the club. In December 2002, Castels resigned as first vice-president after Gaspart refused to call early elections. In the 2006 elections, Castells decided not to run and supported pre-candidate Jordi Medina.Read more:Former vice-president Castells considering to runOpposition figure offered place in candidacyLlaurado confirms that he will run
Catalan sports weekly paper Gol claims that former Barcelona assistant-director Lluís de Val (picture) has been offered to take part in the upcoming elections for president of FC Barcelona as member of a candidacy.Lluís de Val is a 56-year old Catalan businessman from the audiovisual sector who was part of the candidacy of Joan Castells in the 2000 elections. Castells joined the candidacy of then Barcelona vice-president Joan Gaspart and was appointed as vice-president after Gaspart was elected as president.As part of the deal between Castells and Gaspart, several people linked to Castells got a position in the club, among which Lluís de Val, who became a member of a large board of advisors and was some kind of assistant-director until he left the club together with Castells in December of 2002 (read more here).After his exit of the club, De Val has been active in the entourage of the club, at certain moments acting as a voice of the opposition. In 2003, a few months after he left Barcelona, he tried to organize a vote of no confidence against president Joan Gaspart.
In October of 2005, he revealed that director Alejandro Echevarría, then the brother-in-law of Barcelona presidente Laporta, was a member of a foundation in honour of former Spanish dictator Franco, which led to the resignation of Echevarría (read more here).
And earlier this month of February, De Val accused the current board of having bought in 2008 a piece of land in the Catalan city of Viladecans, close to Barcelona, for a value that was far more than the market value. Read more:Former vice-president Castells considering to runLlaurado confirms that he will runFormer brother-in-law Laporta reappearing on stage
The two main Catalan sports papers, Sport and El Mundo Deportivo, claim today that former Barcelona first vice-president Joan Castells is considering to run for president of FC Barcelona in the elections that will be held in June of this year.
Castells, who reportedly has been closely following the events surrounding the club over the last years as well as the pre-election movements, would yesterday evening have held a dinner with several team members of his 2000 candidacy and a group of other Barcelona fans, who are trying to convince him to take part in the elections, to discuss the situation.
Joan Castells is the 57-year old chairman and chief executive of Spanish mutual insurance company Fiatc. In 2000, he was a pre-candidate in the elections for president of Barcelona but he ended up joining the candidacy of then vice-president Joan Gaspart.
After Gaspart won the elections, Castells was appointed as economic vice-president of the club. In December 2002, Castels resigned as first vice-president after Gaspart refused to call early elections. In the 2006 elections, Castells decided not to run and supported pre-candidate Jordi Medina.
Read more: Llaurado confirms that he will run
Former candidate Angel Fernandez will not run Role Masfurroll in Rosell candidacy unclear
Asked about the rumours that he has been holding talks with Barcelona presidential candidate Jaume Ferrer and possible candidate Marc Ingla (read more here), former Barcelona vice-president Joan Castells has explicitly denied the contacts in an interview with Spanish news agency EFE:
