Did Ingla want to sign Mourinho?

Since he publicly announced his candidacy for president of FC Barcelona, Barcelona presidential candidate Marc Ingla has explained several times that he didn't want to sign José Mourinho as successor of Frank Rijkaard as was rumoured in certain media and how the club decided to appoint Guardiola as new coach:

"In november 2007, Txiki Begiristain and I met in my hotel room in Lyon during the afternoon, before the game against Lyon that ended 2-2. We worked for hours and went through the whole sports area. One of the things that came out of this meeting was that the sports project of Frank Rijkaard was coming to an end and that we needed a substitute for the next summer.

Already at that time, Txiki Begiristain said that the best candidate was Pep Guardiola, because he liked his tactics and his way of working. We agreed he was our best option but we knew it was a bold decision, so we said that if we would go with that to the board, we better also first took a look at the other options.

So within the same profile, names like Valverde, Blanc or Laudrup were put on the table, we studied them and we made progress in the process of chosing the new coach. In that process, mister Mourinho also appeared. He was very willing to coach FC Barcelona. He was in Lisbon, he knew our club and he didn't have a job, which also made him a candidate in case Rijkaard wouldn't finish the season.

We went to see Mourinho to hear what his project was, what kind of man he is. The conclusion was that he's a great coach but that his shortcomings made him not a candidate to become the coach of FC Barcelona. That is what we told the president when we were back in Barcelona and I have witnesses of that meeting. So whoever says something else or claims I wanted Mourinho, doesn't speak the truth.

The coach of Barcelona is the image of the club. He has several press conferences a week. So it should be a person who can explain the sporting issues but he should also transmit the values of the club. He has to be educated and not break some basic rules. I think that in this perspective we made the best choice."

Read more:
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Ingla plans referendums on shirts and stadium
Rosell wants Guardiola for six more years

sources: don balón and others

Ingla denies he didn't want Unicef on shirt

Speaking at a meeting with Barcelona fans at his campaign headquarters, Barcelona presidential candidate and asset vice-president Jaume Ferrer has said that his opponent and former marketing and sports vice-president Marc Ingla didn't want to put Unicef on the shirt of the club in 2006:

"I'm happy that Ingla now wants to continue with the Unicef model, while he preferred another model which was that of Betandwin, now Bwin. He also approved the option of 'Beijing 2008', the Olympic Games in Beijing. So I'm happy that he at this moment wishes to keep the model of 'More than a club' that includes a solidary commitment."

Asked about the statement of Ferrer, Ingla denied at a press meeting organized by Spanish sports weekly paper Don Balón to have been against Unicef as shirt sponsor and that he, in his function of marketing vice-president, had presented all options to his board colleagues in order for them to make a decision:

"This is not true. What is true is that I led the search for what we would put on the shirts. My main task as marketing vice-president was to explain the different options to the board, with all the positive and negative aspects, so to give the directors the chance to make a decision.

I presented several options to the board, some of which included big amounts of money, more than Madrid is currently getting for their shirt. There was Betandwin and also Beijing 2008. The chance of being linked with the Olympic Games and China when the country had just started a process of opening itself to the world seemed interesting.

But in the end we thought that the Unicef project was the most revolutionary one. I was in charge of that decision and I in fact personally went to New York to present the project to Unicef, starting the contacts with Unicef representatives first in Barcelona and later in Madrid and Geneva. So I was one of the key people in that deal."

Read more:
Ingla: "Barça should be reference of 21st century"
Ferrer: "I know how do this"
Ingla plans referendums on shirts and stadium

The Quote: Lluis Bassat

"In 2003, I had to sell an apartment I had bought for my son, to pay the debts of the campaign, because some other people of my candidacy didn't want to pay their part of the costs."


Lluís Bassat,
Barcelona presidential candidate in 2000 and 2003

read more election quotes here

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"

Bassat hoping for non-Laporta linked candidate

Former presidential candidate Lluís Bassat, who was the runner-up in the 2000 and the 2003 elections, has said last month at an event organized by Spanish sports weekly paper Don Balón that he hopes a candidate that has not been linked with the board of current Barcelona president Joan Laporta will take part in the elections:

"With the current pre-candidates, there won't be any renewal. Rosell, Godall, Ferrer and Soriano all come from the same project and if only those will run, they will end up talking about why one left and the other stayed. The debates would be little interesting and everything would be reduced to a very limited group."

Read more:
Bassat: "Laporta invented Beckham transfer"
Catalan journalist rejects offer to run for president
Bassat rejects offers to take part in elections

Bassat rejects offers to take part in elections

Speaking at an event organized by Spanish sports weekly paper Don Balón, Catalan business man Lluís Bassat has said that he will not take part in this year's elections for president of FC Barcelona:

"I have received offers to join several candidacies, but I have rejected all of them. But when the time of voting will have arrived and I will know who I will vote for, I will make my choice public."

Advertising agent Lluís Bassat (68) was the runner-up in the presidential elections of 2000 and 2003, being defeated by first Joan Gaspart (55% vs 43%) and then Joan Laporta (53% vs 32%).

Read more:
Bassat will not run a third time
Media mogul rejects election involvement
Bassat: "Laporta invented Beckham transfer"

Media mogul rejects election involvement

Speaking at an event organized by Spanish sports weekly paper Don Balón, Barcelona club member Jaume Roures, chairman and founder of Spanish media group Mediapro that among other things holds the broadcasting rights of FC Barcelona's league games, has said he's not planning to take part in the elections:

"I will never be part of any candidacy for the presidency of Barcelona. People wouldn't vote for me anyway and I'm not stupid. The world of football makes me very nervous because it's not organized the way it should be. The club members will decide what's best for Barça.

For me, Guardiola would be the best president of Barcelona because he perfectly knows the sport, the club and the country. He worked with our company for a while and he's one of the many intelligent people that were part of the Dream Team."

Read more:
Could Guardiola be a future president?
Former candidate Angel Fernandez will not run