Joan Laporta on Monday referred to a complaint filed by members of Barcelona against the Audiencia Nacional, alleging money laundering and unfair fee collection by the former president and some board members. “This is all completely false. It is a strategy of the judiciary and the media to undermine my interests and what I represent in the election,” Bara said in an interview with Catalunya Ludio newspaper.
This is a judicial and media strategy that undermines my interests and what I represent in elections.
The member’s complaint, revealed today by El Periodico, points to a network of companies based in Spain, Cyprus, Dubai, Croatia and Estonia that allegedly paid unfair fees for several tasks carried out by the Laporta board, including the renewal of Nike’s sponsorship and the renovation of Spotify’s Camp Nou. Audiencia Nacional will soon assign the charges to one of its judges, who will decide whether to admit the charges for processing in order to initiate an investigative procedure regarding the material facts charged.
They are trying to undermine and taint this electoral process and Barça.
Bara Contract Confidentiality
Mr. Laporta denies all charges and cites a smear campaign that undermined his presidential re-election bid as the cause of his lawsuit. “This is all completely false. It’s happened to us before. It’s a nuisance. Unless the court accepts this charge, it’s going to take time and it’s going to drag on. I know what this means. This is a judiciary and media strategy to undermine my interests and what I represent in the election. It’s all false. They’re making noise and putting together a story that’s not true,” he said.
I will respond properly to these slanders. It is typical of this strategy that after a long period of defamation something remains.
“We have an interest in causing damage. We cannot reveal certain contracts to the public. There are limits to transparency and that is the club’s strategy. If documents come out, it can have a negative impact on the club’s strategy, and there are confidentiality clauses. We can be as transparent as we want within these conditions, but this is part of normal business life,” added the former Barcelona president.
Some contracts are not publicly available. There are limits to transparency, but that is the club’s strategy.
The lawyer reiterated that he did not yet know the details of the serious accusations, saying, “We still don’t know who made the charges, we don’t know the cost yet. We saw the news. Everything is done with the intention of harm and defamation.”
It is not yet known who brought the charges or how much they cost. I saw the news. Everything is done with the intention of harm and defamation
Joan Laporta, who denied moving to Dubai or Cyprus, did not, however, rule out action regarding these recently learned accusations: “I will respond properly to these slanders. It is typical of this strategy of slander for many years, and there remains something in the direction of harming both the candidate and myself personally. They have been trying for a long time to undermine and taint this electoral process and rose,” the former president said.
In addition to Joan Laporta, the complaint also names some of his former directors, including former directors Rafa Juste, Maria Elena Fort, Eduardo Romeu and Ferran Olive.
Relationship with Messi
Meanwhile, the former president also addressed the state of his relationship with the Argentine star, admitting that he refused to greet him in 2023, saying: “The relationship is not what it should be. There was also an incident at the Ballon d’Or ceremony where I went to greet him, but he thought there was no need to greet each other. Since then, there has been some closeness and I hope that will happen in the future. The relationship has suffered, but he is a Barcelona myth.” Laporta said.
