Barcelona director Emili Rousaud upon resigning from the board has accused someone of getting “their hands in the till” at the Nou Camp, to which accusation the club have fired back with a stern legal warning.
Rousaud, worth more than a reported £175m and was once even handpicked by club president Josep Maria Bartomeu to be on the board at Barcelona, was one of eight board members at Barcelona who were this week told to quit from their roles in the midst of raging controversies behind the scenes at the Nou Camp, especially at the board level.
He was given his marching papers this week after making bold claims that an influential figure at the Nou Camp was benefitting financially off the club.
Rousaud made the accusation referring to a vast amount of money president Josep Maria Bartomeu had supposedly spent on acrimonious and slanderous social media campaigns.
“He broke up the payment in order to avoid control of the commission,” Rousaud told Catalan radio station RAC1.
“Now there’s an investigation that will say how it all went, Bartomeu knows that. The social media matter is a dirty one.
“I think someone has had their hand in the till, but I don’t know who. I don’t think it’s someone on the board.
“I don’t know who it could’ve been. When you pay a million euros for something that’s worth 100,000 euros, white and in a bottle.
“I don’t know who it was, but one can have an idea.”
Apparently it seems that Rousaud was hinting at Bartomeu’s adviser Jaume Masferrer, who was relieved of his duties soon after the social media scandal came to light.
Barcelona have since in a blanket statement denied the claims, stating they will take legal action against those who make allegations regarding inconsistencies with the club’s finances.
A club statement read: “In light of the serious and unfounded allegations made this morning, FC Barcelona categorically deny any action that could be described as corruption, and therefore reserve the right to take the necessary legal action.”