February 9 – FC Barcelona CEO Ferran Reverter has resigned after less than a year in the role “for personal and family reasons”, with the club in the crucial stages of agreeing a major sponsorship deal with streaming service Spotify.
Reverter became club CEO last summer, but he will leave his post as soon as a replacement CEO has been appointed. He was tasked with restructuring the club with a multiple-year strategic plan.
During the coronavirus pandemic FC Barcelona’s debts spiralled out of control after years of poor management by previous officials. The club had to let talisman Lionel Messi go because of the financial constraints. Barcelona’s last financial report pegged its debt at €1.3 billion and a wages to income balance of 103%.
La Vanguardia newspaper in Spain said that Reverter’s departure came in part because of discrepancies in the negotiations with Spotify, and because of past disagreements with president Joan Laporta. Barcelona however didn’t comment and thanked Reverter for his “good work”.
The €280 million deal with Spotify, which would see the streaming service replace current shirt sponsor Rakuten, would help Barcelona navigate short-term financial problems.
Barcelona said Reverter was behind achievements such as “the restructure of debt, reduction of the payroll, agreements with new partners, and others.”
“Personally I have put in much effort and dedication during these months, but I now wish to focus on the reason why I returned to Barcelona, which is to spend more time on personal and family projects,” said Reverter in a statement.
“These have been passionate months and I thank the president for his trust and, above all, his enthusiasm and capacity for leadership that mean FC Barcelona now has a first-class executive team that is able to reposition Barça as a world leader.”
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