2003 was a pretty important year for FC Barcelona. Gaspart was ousted, and with him any vestige of Nuñez 22 year stint as our President. In came Joan Laporta, a young, successful, charming lawyer, who got our club in dire financial situation, awful sporting reality, violence in the stands from the Ultras. Basically hardship all around. A tough, tough challenge. But with his and his board’s vision of bringing the club into the XXI century, turning the club in a proper company and managing it the same way, he was made it possible, in only 3 years, to finish as runner up in La Liga once, win it twice and also carry home a Champions League trophy, something we weren’t able to do in 14 years. Not only that: by the end of his 7 year term, we won 2 more UCL titles, and 3 more La Liga titles, along with Copa Del Rey and various Supercups. He revived our club, the fan’s excitement about the team, bet on Pep Guardiola as our manager, and everything worked out. We even won 6 titles in the same year, something never done before or since. He was the best President FC Barcelona ever had and made it possible so the best football ever witnessed could come to fruition.

I urge you to take 90 minutes and watch this documentary on Laporta’s first year as President. It’s really worth your time, and shows the challenges they faced, how they dealt with it all, and even showed a little glimpse of who his adversaries among his board were gonna be: 

Sandro Rosell was his closest ally. Hell, they were actually good friends. But Sandro’s eternal lust for power and influence made them grow apart, and eventually he left the board, only to come back as the opposition to Laporta in 2010. And he won.

Thing is: that wasn’t enough for him. Sandro Rosell, a man has ties with the worst people in football, (as you can read here: https://lucasammr.com/2013/10/15/scandal-that-took-down-havelange-and-teixeira-had-rosells-networks/; and here: https://lucasammr.com/2013/08/15/more-evidences-of-sandro-rosells-crimes-in-brazil/, and here: https://lucasammr.com/2013/08/16/more-evidences-of-sandro-rosells-crimes-in-brazil-part-2/, and here: https://lucasammr.com/2013/08/20/more-evidences-of-sandro-rosells-crimes-in-brazil-part-3/, and also here: https://lucasammr.com/2013/08/23/even-more-evidences-of-sandro-rosells-crimes-in-brazil-part-4/), decided to cook Laporta’s books.

Laporta left the club with an 11 million euro surplus, but Rosell had the books cooked and audited, so it seemed Laporta had left the club with over 80 mi euros in losses. Which was not true. But it didn’t matter: Rosell called up and Assembly of socis in 2010, and had an historic vote: for the first time in Spanish football history, a club would sue their previous President/board for losses on their term. And it passed. 29 votes was difference. And it took 4 years for Laporta’s and his board’s image to be cleared. Which happened today.

Guardiola asked Rosell and the current board to stop pursuing such case. They didn’t listen. Actually, Rosell then proceeded to shone Cruijff away from the club, and made it possible so Pep Guardiola would also leave. But hey, he offered a blank check so Guardiola could name his price! He certainly did all he could to keep him…

In the last 4 years, Rosell managed to take UNICEF out of our shirt. Drove Cruijff and Guardiola out of the club. Lied to every single FC Barcelona fan and soci, and to Abidal himself, and did not renew his contract after promising to do so. Drove Keita away, due to wages. Put Qatar and their oil money on our shirt, our stands and even on the outside of our stadium. It doesn’t matter that they fund terrorist groups in the Middle East. We “wouldn’t be able to compete with top European clubs if it weren’t for them!”.

Rosell also signed Neymar for 57,1 million euros, period. Oh, no, sorry, it was 86 million. Oops, damn, it was actually 86mi, then we paid 13 million to avoid a fiscal case, but Hacienda and Fiscalia are chasing it anyway, and the club has already planned to pay another 20 million euros if things go south. So it’s gonna be something around 120 million euros for Neymar. And, a few months after, there were problems renewing Messi, because apparently “we don’t need to renew with this senyor every 6 months”!

Neymar’s signing made him resign. Oh, no, sorry. It was due to “personal reasons”. Apparently someone used a BB gun and shot his house up. “What a shame! How the President who brought the ultras back to the Camp Nou, and even paid so they could go to away Champions League matches was gonna be attacked like that?!” Exactly. He wasn’t. Another lie.

In four years, Rosell managed to destroy the best football team in the world, send the best football coach in the world away, took away the soul of our club by tainting our shirt with Qatar money, did not keep our squad current, pissed off Messi to such an extent a dying Tito Vilanova had to convince him to stay with us. Then left like the coward he is. And left his new best pal, Bartomeu, as the President no one voted for, in charge.

And in those four years, Laporta and his board were seen as criminals. Thieves. The people who had worked hard to put this club back on its feet, without financial peril, being able to compete for big titles again and to make the fans happy, were being treated badly, while the one person who lied to put them in this position and was actively destroying this club and everything they built, was still regarded as a hero for not using colored printers in the club’s offices…

Today, it all changed. Laporta and his board were found not guilty of any losses from their term. In fact, they left the club with 4 million euros in surpluses. Which means one simple thing: the current board has the right to appeal in the next 20 days. If they don’t, and I believe that’s gonna be the case, the 57 million in actual losses is gonna be awarded to them. They are gonna to explain how that happened now. Curious, isn’t it?

If they decide to appeal, which I sincerely don’t see happening, than Laporta and 7 of his board members would have to pay 2,9 million euros each to the LFP, for something so laughable most people won’t even believe: when Laporta took over in 2003, there were 8 days still remaining in Gaspart’s term. So when Laporta’s board presented their books in 2006, someone from the Spanish judicial system saw fit to put the losses Gaspart had in the WHOLE 2002-2003 season on Laporta’s back. One whole year was passed on due to 8 days. That sums up Spain and why Catalunya wants to be free quite nicely…

Rosell was a board member in the most important period in FC Barcelona modern history. He helped us get back at our fit and even managed to bring Ronaldinho to the Camp Nou. But his lust for power and his complete lack of dignity and ethics (I will not use the world criminal, but that is surely coming…) sent us back several steps. He damaged our image, and nowadays our club has more news regarding sentences than actual good football and titles.

In the coming weeks or months, FC Barcelona fans should expect 3 more sentences. The final Neymar case one, which could cost us another 20 million euros; the TAS ruling, which most likely will not allow us to sign any players until 2016; and the MCM case, which could make the club pay over 100 million euros due to a breach of contract that happened under Rosell’s watch.

Sandro Rosell took over as our President with the clear intent of having revenge against Laporta, for whatever reason his sick mind came up with. So far, all he has done is severely damage our club, strengthen the opposition and be regarded as the “Runaway President”. Everything that starts will ill intent is eventually punished. I just hope our club manages to purge its blemishes sooner rather than later. This man has done enough. It’s time we rebuild, peacefully, and focus on the important part of football: the actual sport, and being able to enjoy our team without a divisions among fans and socis. We’ve had enough.