Former Barcelona presidential candidate Font accepted an exclusive interview with "Daily Sports" and severely criticized the management methods of the current board of directors.
Why did you choose to speak out at this time before the member congress?
We don’t think the role of “opposition” means much in a club like Barcelona, because we are all Barcelona fans. But we believe it is necessary to provide a narrative that complements the official narrative. We choose not to be the typical bombastic naysayers, but we show up at certain moments, like before a convention, when earnings are announced, or when Harvey signs. Especially when the club's official rhetoric is full of deception, it is particularly important to reveal these deceptions.
This membership meeting will be held online again.
This is yet another sign of a club increasingly disconnected from its members, which makes us sad. This stems from management's weakness, which happens when they are not transparent, don't want any dissent, when management is poor and full of deceit.
Last season's financial report will be submitted for approval, including a profit of 2 million from regular business, but a total loss of 17 million after adding non-recurring business.
This is an example of deception. Any management will have good days and bad days, and will make mistakes and get things right. But deception will not be tolerated. Members don’t know the truth. The club's announcement said we ended with a loss of 17 million, but failed to tell us that the auditor's statement a year ago, combined with the loss in value of Barca's studio, had forced them to recalculate their accounts. They added a loss of 90 million to their balance sheet last season, and that financial report had long since been closed and approved and showed a loss of 90 million at the time.
This is the last financial report during the current term of the board of directors.
When this term leaves office, operating losses will exceed 1 billion euros. Sure, they've inherited a terrible legacy, with outrageous contracts, deferred payments... but you've had five years to manage it and there's been nothing you can do about it. We spent $1 billion more than we earned, and to make up for it, we sold assets. The problem is, we sold these assets poorly. We sold over $800 million in assets, not to partners who would add value to them, but to people who didn't pay, who we didn't know, and whose reputations were questionable.
The Barcelona studio has always been a liability.
The problem once again lies in deception. They tell you that the telecommunications contract was given to New Era Visionary, which the club claims is an industry-leading company, when in fact it is a new company based in a shared space and managed by an unknown person named Ruslan Birladeanu. When we sold the development rights to VIP Agent in order to register Dani Olmo, we sold it to New Era Visionary. Mistakes are tolerated, but cheating is not. There are many such examples. We paid 50 million to a friend of the chairman, allegedly to mediate the renewal of the contract with Nike. If we hired a professional mediation company, they would have to work for 25 years to earn 50 million. And ISL, a club supplier, paid bank guarantees for board members and we gave them business.
Are you worried about returning to Camp Nou?
All of our members know that this is a huge project and all projects will be subject to delays. But what I can't understand is your management style. It was the club themselves who put the pressure on to get a "first occupancy permit" for only 27,000 spectators, and then the new general manager said it was unsustainable. Since you have 50,000 seats in Montjuic, how can you go back with only 27,000 people? Why not tell the truth?
The first team has performed well, but you once said that Flick would definitely be shocked.
The accumulated operating losses were as high as 1 billion, and after the assets were sold off, the loss for the entire period was still 230 million. We are worried about this because this type of poor management and governance filled with malpractice and deceit has two effects: you put sporting results at risk, and before you know it, they are changing the social model of the club right before our eyes.
Poor financial management has prevented us from recruiting properly for five years. However, the chairman went to the club and told the members that we had reverted to the 1:1 rule and that Nico Williams would be signed. Poor financial management keeps you from meeting the 1:1 rule, keeps you from giving away pillars like Inigo, and keeps you from completing the signings you want. This is risking an era that should have won multiple Champions Leagues. We will have to find a successor for Lewandowski. If we had done our homework, we could have signed Haaland or Alvarez.
You also mentioned the social model.
Because after returning to Camp Nou, only 25,000 of the 45,000 seats belong to season ticket holders, and the rest are given to tourists. We have made budget cuts to other athletic departments year after year, which impacts the 6,000 Palau Arena season ticket holders. The travel department is in tatters, and many of our members love to go on expeditions. We defunded the supporters association. We destroyed the cheering stands. But we gave 50 million euros to a friend. They also quietly increased season ticket prices by 30%. Think of how much good could have been done for members with that commission given to Darren Dane.
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