The CEO of prominent TV company Mediapro has denied any personal involvement in the guaranteed payment which officialised the election of Joan Laporta as Barcelona president.
Jaume Roures was said by Catalan media outlet Expansion to have donated €30m through a linked company to ensure Laporta deposited the required amount of €124.6m with the league’s headquarters on Wednesday.
Whilst Roures has now confirmed that such a payment was made, he denies that it was in any way connected to Mediapro – who work in hand with La Liga – nor was it done to leverage himself any power within the Catalan club’s board.
The veteran media mogul, businessman, film producer and political activist insists that the payment was processed in order to avoid a repeat of the club’s presidential elections and to ensure that democracy was fulfilled, whilst stressing that the payment itself was only a temporary measure – meaning that it could not be classified as a loan or donation.
Roures said in a statement, with quotes carried in full by Deportes Cuatro: “I have not provided any personal guarantee nor have I paid any amount to anyone.”
“A company personally linked to me, Orpheus Media, SL, and which is totally outside Mediapro, has guaranteed Banco de Sabadell SA a policy granted to the members of the board of directors of FC Barcelona.
“This guarantee is only valid for a few months. It is not, therefore, a loan or donation of any kind.
“Orpheus has not sought or requested any consideration from the members of the Board of Directors of FC Barcelona, except for the reimbursement of the financial cost of the guarantee at the end of its validity.
“It is therefore not a question of any commercial operation or of obtaining any type of control over the club or participation in its board. This collaboration was made to complement the amount of the guarantee required by the LFP (La Liga) and with the sole purpose of avoiding the repetition of the elections to the FC Barcelona.
“The electoral repetition would have been very damaging for FC Barcelona and ultimately for all of Barça’s partners as it would have plunged the club into a crisis of proportions difficult to gauge. With the presentation of the endorsement, the result of the elections is fulfilled.”
