DBasia.news – Barcelona was hit by another disaster, namely the Barcagate scandal. Pep Guardiola, his former player and coach, hopes this.
The Barcelona office was recently ransacked by the police on Monday (1/3/2021) local time. The authorities came, to carry out an investigation into the Barcagate issue.
What is the Barcagate scandal? The case first surfaced on February 17, 2020, about a year ago. Cadena Ser’s media disassembled it.
At that time, Barcelona was reported to have collaborated with a media consulting company, I3 Ventures. The company is contracted by the Blaugrana, to improve the club’s image on social media.
However, I3 Ventures was also claimed to have been used by Barcelona to ‘muzzle’ the opponents of the club president at that time, Josep Maria Bartomeu. Using fake accounts, attacks were aimed at club stars such as Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique, and even legends like Carles Puyol and Pep Guardiola.
Then, the Barcagate issue developed, because in the recruitment process in Barcelona it was alleged that there had been acts of corruption. It was suspected that the contract fee was inflated up to 600% of the market price.
After investigations, including a search of the Barcelona office, police detained Bartomeu and three other top officials. The arrests were made a week before the new presidential election, namely on March 7.
Guardiola, one of the living legends of Barcelona who is now coaching Manchester City, hopes his club is doing well. He also hopes that the new president can bring improvements to Los Cules.
“I know it’s an uncomfortable situation and hopefully it will end well. He [Bartomeu] is now innocent until proven guilty. The only thing I’m worried about is that in the next week, we will have a new president. Congratulations to the three of them, we are in a difficult situation all over the world, and in Barcelona in particular, for many reasons. Everyone knows that, “said Guardiola, as reported by beIN Sports.
“In order to have the courage to lead in the years to come, I am sure that as many people as possible can choose the right president to lead this extraordinary club. For me, the best club in the world who is suffereing from sentimental problems, I believe Barcelona will return even stronger quickly. “
“The new president must be able to lead with confidence, unite with the team and the fans, and it will be the club we are now. I’m looking forward to next Sunday’s election, and hopefully the president we choose will be alright,” stated Pep Guardiola of his hopes for Barcelona.