Within the coming months, Barcelona are dealing with two main challenges of their illustrious fashionable historical past – the long-awaited presidential elections and the doable departure of Lionel Messi from the membership. Intriguingly, nevertheless, the 2 could also be carefully associated to at least one one other.
Joan Laporta, Victor Font and Toni Freixa are all on the ultimate shortlist for the elections however the date for the vote is now up within the air, though Catalunya Radio reported that postal voting could now be thought of.
Laporta is the favorite for the submit after garnering a powerful 9,625 validated member signatures with Font and Freixa lagging behind on 4,431 and a couple of,634 respectively.
The provisional date for the elections to be held is 7 March, however that has not but been confirmed by the membership.
With the elections formally getting postponed as a result of present COVID-19 scenario, it means Barcelona can be leader-less for a pair extra months. After all, they nonetheless have an interim president however till the matter is resolved, the membership can’t really transfer ahead into a greater future.
Carlos Tusquets is the present interim president of the Blaugrana however elections had been set to be held on 24 January with candidates vying to interchange the departed Josep Maria Bartomeu.
The membership met with the Catalan Authorities on Friday morning to debate the elections amid the present coronavirus pandemic and have determined they can’t go forward as deliberate.
The membership’s official assertion learn:
“The Authorities has conveyed to the membership that the present epidemiological scenario doesn’t make it doable to authorise the motion outdoors the municipality to members who should not have a polling station of their municipality on January 24, given the excessive mobility this could entail.
“For its half, the membership has acknowledged the impossibility of holding elections on the scheduled date as a consequence of mobility restrictions decreed by the Catalan Authorities within the present context of pandemic, which is why the date of the elections should be delayed.
“On this sense, the membership has requested the Catalan Authorities to judge the opportunity of modifying the present sports activities laws with the intention to allow voting by submit on the brand new date of the elections, a request that the Authorities has undertaken to check.”
The three candidates within the race may have a tricky job of someway convincing Messi their sporting mission is secure and adequate for him to remain and must do it quickly. However time is strictly what they want and won’t have.
Laporta not too long ago acknowledged, “Delaying the election doesn’t profit Barcelona. If we wish Leo Messi to remain, Barca wants a president and a board proper now.
Laporta believes elections are key in guaranteeing Messi stays on the membership. The participant desires to do this however chances are high he received’t if a transparent construction shouldn’t be put in place as quickly as doable.
Six-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi may miss as much as 4 video games after receiving the primary pink card of his Barcelona profession on Sunday. The Argentine was given his marching orders for lashing out at Athletic Bilbao’s Asier Villalibre in extra-time as Ronald Koeman’s facet suffered a 2-3 defeat towards Bilbao within the Supercopa last.
It was his 753rd look for Barcelona and for the primary time Messi had been dismissed.
Messi’s motion falls below violent conduct, which may ensue at the very least a four-game ban topic to a evaluate from the Spanish soccer authorities. So, Messi is prone to miss Barcelona’s Copa del Rey fixture towards Cornella adopted by La Liga matches towards Elche, Athletic Membership and Actual Betis.
Barcelona will enchantment the ban!!#Messi #barcelona #FCB #Laliga pic.twitter.com/GBjQK4sl3C
— FootTheBall (@FootTheBall) January 20, 2021
On-pitch frustrations might be the case, as a result of Barcelona led twice throughout regulation time however failed to carry on to their lead. In actual fact, Athletic scored their second objective on 90 minutes earlier than netting the winner in extra-time. The defeat noticed Barcelona miss out on a trophy. Messi had missed the semi-final towards Actual Sociedad owing to an harm.
Because the defeat towards Athletic, Barcelona followers have been lashing out on the workforce’s head coach Ronald Koeman on social media for taking part in Messi for 120 minutes, as in response to them, the participant didn’t look to be at 100 per cent.
Following the sport, it was confirmed that Messi will now miss Barcelona’s subsequent two video games. Nevertheless, his ban might be doubled when the Royal Spanish Soccer Federation’s competitors committee meet to debate the incident later this week.
“Delaying the election doesn’t profit Barcelona. If we wish Leo Messi to remain, Barca wants a president and a board proper now.”
There’s a query whether or not the continued off-the-pitch points and uncertainties has made the good man really feel annoyed.
A pandemic-hit season and the wage-cut that adopted irked Messi, however Barcelona’s highway to monetary restoration seems unsure. In accordance with a report within the Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia, Barcelona’s debt is approaching €1 billion ($1.2 billion).
With the matches being performed behind closed doorways, the membership can also be lacking out on €320 million ($386 million) from gate receipts. Barcelona spent 70 % of their income in transfers and wages. In accordance with the newspaper, €170 million ($205 million) has now been withheld after the wage discount.