“I don’t have €350m to name the Camp Nou” – key Laporta backer

Barcelona news throughout the month has focused on the election of Joan Laporta as the club’s new president.

Laporta had to deposit a sum of €124.6m within 10 day of his election to be sworn in as president, as per the club’s legislature.

That was eventually guaranteed with the help of José Elías Navarro, the founder of Audax Renovables.

Virtually nobody had heard of Elías prior to the election but the 44-year-old from Badalona was essential to securing Laporta was sworn in as president without the need for a fresh round of elections.

However, Elías is one of the wealthiest men in Spain and whilst his club membership is not long enough to secure him a place on the board, Audax – the energy company based in the city – will have its vice president Eduard Romeu as the new vice president of the club.

Despite the wealth of Elías, he told an interview with El Mundo Deportivo that he would not be able to fund the naming rights for the club’s Camp Nou stadium.

He said: “It would be an honor for me, but I don’t have enough money to pay that. I don’t have €350m to name the Camp Nou. In fact, I doubt that any Spanish company is going to name the stadium, it is a lot of money.”