Barcelona President Resigns Amid a Lawsuit

Sandro Rosell

Barcelona president, Sandro Rosell, resigned yesterday after a lawsuit was accepted by the spanish court accusing him of misappropriating funds as part of the $78 million transfer of the Brazilian soccer star Neymar last summer.

“The signing of Neymar is correct, and his signing has sparked envy and desperation among some of our opponents,” Rosell said.

 “Some confidentiality is essential in soccer, and were it not so it could cause prejudices to the club,” he added.

According to NewYork Times, the lawsuit  was filed by a Barcelona club member, Jordi Cases, who accused Rosell of covering up the actual terms of Neymar’s transfer from his Brazilian club, Santos.

Shortly after Rosell took over as Barcelona's president from Joan Laporta in 2010, he accused Laporta of  falsifying the club’s accounts, which were restated to a loss of 79.6 million euros (more than $100 million) instead of the $15 million profit that Laporta had claimed for his last season in charge. Laporta denied wrongdoing.

The last president to resign was Joan Gaspart in 2003, after a long spell of disappointing performances by the team.

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