Evarist Murtra and, for many Barcelona fans, not only members, and reference culésince all his thoughts are focused, exclusively and exclusively, on protecting the name, image and representation of ‘Més que un club’. Murtra feels that Catalonia and Barça are incompatibletherefore he is afraid that the way Joan Laporta and his team control the team will lead to a company with few games.
What is your first reading of the financial close of accounts for the 2023/24 season of FC Barcelona?
After reading the research carefully, the assessment is very negative as to how management can run this group with such impunity, lack of transparency and many facts. The result is that the accounts are very bad and show many deviations from what was planned for the previous year.
So you think he tried to confuse his partner when he announced that he had a common profit of 12 million euros?
It is obvious, of course, and I hope that the joint committee will not be disturbed on Saturday. From July, he started, through our president, talking about the principle of ‘common profit’ instead of talking about the end of the year compared to the budget he gave. The words that the club spoke before learning about the audit, saying that the main point that € 12 million of ‘ordinary profit’ was achieved and hinting that, in fact, 91 million euros were lost compared to what was planned, was an attempt to distract attention. And, all the accounts and investigations, full of qualifications and ‘except…’, are further proof of the failure of this board to manage the group clearly.
The organization is failing to manage the group clearly and they do not deserve the high positions they hold.
You, in October 2023, said that the closure of this season would be a fiasco. What made you think it would be like this?
It was obvious, if you followed the fiasco of everything that surrounded the wrong name of Barça Media. The operation began in July 2022 with the sole purpose of registering players. Then, a company was created that offered two “partners” Orpheus and Socios.com, and a company valuation of €150 million. These sponsors contributed €20 million. The purpose of this company was to sell digital equipment for the group. The following year, the company moved to a price of €400 million, saying that several partners would participate. The partners were all very suspicious, some unknown, some living in tax havens. The group received 408 million euros, half of which is to be paid, the other half in raising the price…
Evarist Murtra appreciates the hiring of Hansi Flick / Valentine Enriches
Please continue.
There is no club in the world, not one, that sells digital products in its products. My assessment was that it would be difficult, if not impossible, for these investors to meet their payments. This has been the case and this has led to serious disruptions in the club’s standards and income statement. What is even more unbearable is that, despite the warning of this study, the group did not destroy participation in its literature.
You had a coffee with Eduard Romeu, the vice president for finance at the time, but you still didn’t get him back.
The story of the coffee and the legend, of course, was a way of knowing, well, telling the club managers, that nothing they announced was going to happen. I insist, the coffee thing is a fantasy, the strong one is that Mr. Romeu, in his words to the newspaper, confirmed that it was a fantasy project to have a “good game” in front of LaLiga, and that the company is now calling for it. Bridgeburg, will be worthy of what the team says it is worth. Strange!
The partner should reject these accounts, because they do not represent a true picture of them.
Does everything about Barça Studios, Barca Visión or Bridgeburg seem like fiction to you?
I’m sorry, but the important thing is that it doesn’t seem that way to me, it seems that way to everyone and the wording of the survey, if you read it in detail, shows that. Look, at the end of June 2023, the company closed with sales of € 450,000. At the last closing, June this year, it was €70,000! There is no independent firm that certifies the valuation, or the business plan, according to the auditor. Which suggests that another closure, in June 2025, is a big loss, since the total current price should drop due to the increase in the price of the commodity.
Murtra strongly criticized Joan Laporta’s group / Valentine Enriches
Accounting firm Grant Thortom has provided the qualifications. Should the willing member accept the group’s claims or, instead, reject the accounts?
The partner should reject these accounts, because they do not represent the true picture of them. Look, there is no company in Spain or in the world that accepts accounts, their accounts, with many qualifications, ‘except…’ and all kinds of qualifications. No sane businessman would submit these accounts and audits to his board of directors. The members are the owners of the group and our managers have tried to get us to accept the accounts accompanied by a very difficult survey full of caveats. There is no need to accept them.
And what would be the right way?
Very simply, these accounts must be adjusted based on the auditor’s observations and/or opinions. Then, the auditor must examine them and, as soon as possible, call another meeting of the ‘owners’ and approve the accounts, which are now deleted, without qualification or ‘exception…’. This is what President Joan Laporta should do and it would be commendable, but I am afraid that he will not do it, because I believe that no one deserves the high position that he has.
He has never been a supporter of criticism. Do you stand by this idea?
I am not a supporter of actions that threaten the stability of this group. I would like this group to show up, call for elections, and if they want to stand again, let them do so.
‘Som un Clam’ is ready to lead the club to a successful finish if he chooses to prove himself
You were or are friends with President Laporta and, however, you are now connected with the possibility of being with him, Joan Camprubí Montal. Will you help them? Do you see them ready?
I was in a relationship with Jan until I resigned in 2008 due to serious disagreements over how I wanted to run the club. Since I resigned, along with many other directors, I did not see him again until the other day when he presented me with a 75 year membership badge, a very emotional event for me. This conflict has intensified since he came back as President, and because of his actions and his views on how the club that is the first form of Catalonia should be run and what represents our country. I have a good relationship with Joan Camprubí, the leader of the ‘Som un Clam’ platform and many who accompany him, who are very ready to bring the group to a successful resolution if they decide to be elected. They are Barcelona fans for many years, they are of the right age and I see them as generous and morally they do not raise any doubts in me.
What do you think of Victor Font?
The same thing happens to me with the platform ‘Som un Clam’, but I see your project as one person. I see the ‘Som un Clam’ platform as passable. Since they have a similar business history, I hope they will join, and if people like Jordi Termes join, as they have already announced, or Marc Ciria, at best, they are legitimate and experienced people.
Flick is very successful and is the president. We have to continue to support this team
With the current state of the club, do you also guarantee that Barça will not be a limited company?
Obviously. The best known sign is this. A Catalan club known as “more than a club and more than a football team.” This story is invincible. Barça and Catalunya are always connected. Barça cannot be understood without a very strong Catalan section.
But a model similar to Bayern would not be better than selling levers (assets) slowly…
Bayern’s style doesn’t work for Barça. Catalonia is not Bavaria. We must realize that the problems the team faced are due to poor management. The SA was not vaccinated against poor management. Therefore, what needs to be done is to manage it well, and to reform the laws that have less requirements so that they can get leadership positions and changes that are strong control mechanisms.
When it comes to sports, there is no denying that Hansi Flick is Laporta’s best.
It is very successful and it is for the President. We have to continue to support the team, even if there are a few mistakes in the game.
Guardiola is coming from Barça and one day maybe the stars will align for him to come back. I want to see it, it will be a good story
Do you see your friend Pep Guardiola one day at Barça?
Pep is coming from Barça and one day maybe the stars will align for him to come back. I want to see him, it would be good news for the club.
This board of directors, after many years, has implemented a change at the Camp Nou. Are you excited or anxious about work?
Having a new site is always exciting, although I have a lot of doubts about this investment due to the lack of transparency of the board of directors. We don’t know how the money is used, its value, the conditions we have and the business plan we have to follow to make this stadium truly our property. This worries me, as does the change in terms of employment and the resignation of the head of the economy, Ramon Ramírez, on behalf of the president’s partner. Another disturbing act of friendship.
Finally, how do you see the future in the near future?
If this advice continues, I can see that the future is very difficult. Without being a disaster, because Barça is not Reus (all Reus fans forgive me) and has many contradictions. We will continue to rely on sponsors, providing them with any type of payment. The most notable is the extension of support by 10 years with Nike and the partial sale of another gem such as BLM, which will hide the mistakes of management and reduce the possibility of changing the current chaos. to take us. If this goes on for a long time, the next board will have less room to control, and its main goal will be to restore the debt. The team will be in close contact every day with financiers and sponsors.
