Conflict Pushes Barcelona Into Crisis

A bust up between Lionel Messi and coach Luis Enrique and the firing of sports director Andoni Zubizarreta in the aftermath of the club’s transfer ban has pushed an already tainted Barcelona board into crisis.
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Talk of controversy is never far away when discussing the Catalan club that has more than its fair share of internal disputes, mainly due to the importance of the institution in the community.
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Yet a similar level of unrest has not been seen since the days of president Joan Gaspart, whose mismanagement led to his resignation and elections in 2003.
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Just under a year ago, then-president Sandro Rosell resigned after a judge decided to investigate the transfer of Neymar from Santos after the case was taken up by a fan.
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He was replaced by vice-president Josep Maria Bartomeu, who immediately accepted that the Brazilian’s transfer fee was closer to €100 million rather than the €57.1 million previously stated.
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There have been constant calls for renewed presidential elections, but Bartomeu has always been adamant that he would see out the board’s mandate, which runs until 2016.
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It has been a troubled year for Bartomeu, which is now coming to a head with the departure of Zubizarreta and the team’s failure to convince under Luis Enrique.
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Fans made their opinions clear when a video was played at the Nou Camp to celebrate Messi breaking the La Liga scoring record last November and a clip of Bartomeu and Zubizarreta prompted a chorus of whistles.
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Zubizarreta’s record in the transfer market as sports director since 2010, when the Rosell presidency began, was generally poor.
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From the outset, he never had the close relationship with coach Pep Guardiola that his predecessor Txiki Begiristain, now at Manchester City, enjoyed.
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Along with the Neymar affair, Zubizaretta was blamed last year for failing to strengthen the defence, which was plainly lacking last season when the team failed to win a major trophy.
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When he did buy ahead of this campaign many supporters were left disappointed with the signings of an ageing Jeremy Mathieu from Valencia and the little-known Brazilian Douglas.