Barcelona President Joan Laporta has faced criticism for his lack of transparency since returning to the club for a second time. One of the unexplained matters currently is the role of Alejandro Echevarria.
Formerly married to Laporta’s sister, their relationship began during Laporta’s first spell in charge of the club, remind El Periodico, but was forced to distance himself after it was revealed that Echevarria was part of the Francisco Franco Foundation – an organisation that glorifies Spain’s murderous dictator.
Since he has re-emerged as a key figure at Barcelona though, despite the fact that he is unelected and not part of the board of directors. Echevarria is said to be ‘involved in everything’, and is a good friend to have due to his unwavering loyalty – ‘he would kill me if he knew I was speaking to you. Better to be his friend than his enemy.’
They go on to detail how Echevarria was involved in negotiations with Jordi Alba of late, Deco (set to become Sporting Director), and others. He is known as a ‘man of favours’, and will happily get up at 4am in order to attend to a player. Echevarria created the club’s Office of Service to the players, which looks after the squad. It has build close bonds between the players and Echevarria, even gifting Antonella Rocuzzo and Lionel Messi their giant dog Hulk.
He was also key in securing the €124.5m bank guarantee for Laporta to become President the second time round due to his connections. While he has a reputation for solving problems at the club, another of their sources states that he also creates some; ‘he’ll make it seem really difficult, make you sweat, and then solve it, and you’re forced to say thank you very much and feel in debt to him.’
Echevarria’s charisma and charming personality is highlighted ad part of his personality. He also has connections with Gabon, which have led to Messi being there to open a port, and Jose Antonio Camacho managing their national team.
What his motivation is, other than vanity, is as of yet unknown. However if it is the case that Echevarria’s ‘not a charity’, then it will lead many to wonder just what favours Laporta owes him. Following on from Caso Negreira, Laporta is yet to justify Echevarria’s presence.
