The three candidates to be the next president of Barcelona have reacted to the news of senior club officials being arrested on Monday.
Barcelona news is being dominated by the arrest of the club’s former president Josep Maria Bartomeu alongside the club’s CEO Oscar Grau, head of legal Roman Gomez Ponti and Jaume Masferrer.
Read more: Former Barcelona president Bartomeu and senior club officials arrested on corruption charges
The arrests come just six days ahead of the elections to choose a permanent successor to Bartomeu, who resigned from his post in October.
Joan Laporta, Toni Freixa and Victor Font are the three candidates on the final ballot and each have now offered their responses to Monday’s development.
Laporta spoke of his shock at the news but did not offer any other analysis, whilst Font prioritised that it highlighted the need for ending “corruption” at the club with Freixa offering his support for those arrested, claiming that it is intended to “hurt” the club.
Laporta, speaking on Spanish radio on Monday, and as quoted by Diario AS, reacted: “It is the first news I have of it. Well, firstly, the presumption is one of innocence. It is not good news for Barça because he has been president of the club.
“It is true that he did not have a good management style but he is still president of Barça and the news has not been pleasant. It is shocking news.”
Font said of the news: “We must totally end corruption. It kills meritocracy…it is a way of making an era inherent that must be eradicated if we want to move forward as a club without hindrances or fears.”
Massa gent volent fer mal al Barça. No ho permetrem. Mai caminaràs sol 💙❤️
— Toni Freixa (@tonifreixa) March 1, 2021
The 52-year-old lawyer tweeted: “Too many people want to hurt Barça. We will not allow it. You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
Carlos Tusquets is the current interim president of the Blaugrana with a permanent successor to be named by this stage next week.
