A group of FC Barcelona fans has demanded the resignation of the club’s President Joan Laporta, which has been inspired by problems surrounding the registrations of Dani Olmo and Pau Victor.
The players were Barca’s only two summer signings for its first team, with Olmo costing north of $60 million to get out of his RB Leipzig contract while Pau Victor was picked up for $2.6 million (€2.5 million) from Catalan neighbor Girona.
They could only be registered to play until December 31 because of a loophole temporarily opened by injuries to Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen.
And on said day as 2024 drew to a close, La Liga confirmed that Olmo and Pau Victor would not receive licenses to play the rest of the season as things stand after a judge also refused to grant one.
“La Liga informs that, as of today, December 31, FC Barcelona has not presented any alternative that, in compliance with La Liga’s economic control regulations, would allow it to register any player from next January 2,” a statement on the matter read.
On January 1, the Spanish top flight then erased the players from Barca’s squad on its official website.
Amid explanations of Barca standing to lose $273 million (€263 million) if Olmo walks as a free agent, as is his right, a group of angry Barca fans has demanded Laporta’s resignation.
The morning of January 2 in Catalonia saw Som un Clam release a statement calling for the President’s head, because it believes that this latest episode shows how after almost four years in charge, Laporta “has not managed to redirect the course of the club”.
In a lengthy correspondence, Som un Clam wanted to express its “total indignation and shame caused by the management of president Joan Laporta and the board of directors regarding the registrations of Dani Olmo and Pau Victor”, and therefore demanded their resignation as a consequence.
“What we have experienced in the last hours of 2024 shows that the vicious circle in which the club’s governing team has entered has fully exploded. Sooner than was even imaginable, amateur and erratic management is beginning to affect the sporting performance of the first team, which could be deprived of two of its signings,” it added.
Som un Clam pointed out that come January 3, we will know what the final resolution of the “grotesque” case is.
“But the situation created is inadmissible, and the damage caused to the reputation of the entity is irreparable. The bad image is aggravated by the continuous lies and the deception of members with false promises that are never fulfilled and that end up harming the Club”.
“In just four years, FC Barcelona’s assets have been decapitalised with various ‘levers’, misselling strategic assets for the future to cover holes derived from chaotic and improvised management.
“Despite promises of recovery, the club still lacks a solid financial plan or a coherent strategy to ensure stability in the medium and long term.
“All this, while we observe with concern and amazement how intermediaries with millionaire commissions are introduced in operations such as the renewal of the sponsorship contract with Nike or the sponsorship of Spotify.”
The group insisted that Barca’s members cannot allow the club to be degraded in this way.
“We demand an end to the unfulfilled promises, constant improvisation and irresponsible sale of assets that are mortgaging the model of collective ownership that makes us unique.
A change of course is urgent. It is necessary to recover the transparency, planning and values that have made Barca “more than a club”.
“The future ofBarçca depends on us, its members, and we will not sit idly by while the institution degrades.
“Faced with this situation, Som un Clam insists that the vicious circle in which we have entered due to the management of the board endangers the heritage of our club and its ownership model.
“For this reason, we ask for the resignation of the president and the board of directors, while we call on Barca fans to mobilize, reverse this situation and make their voices heard,” it concluded.
