Agusti Benedito: I would tell Bartomeu to go, to leave Barça now

Agusti Benedito: I would tell Bartomeu to go, to leave Barça now

Agustí Benedito visitó la redacción de SPORT y posó junto a una urna
Agustí Benedito visitó la redacción de SPORT y posó junto a una urna | VALENTÍ ENRICH

Benedito visited SPORT to talk about the vote of no confidence

He feels it's a matter of urgency that the board resign immediately

Agustí Benedito speaks loud and clear. He believes the current Barça board should resign. And that's the objective of his vote of no confidence.

What did you think of Albert Soler and Robert Fernández's press conference?

It was a complicated press confernece at a really difficult moment and there were contradictions, lies and explanations created to create sensations which don't correspond with reality. It was as if they were trying to buy time, in line with the board in these past few months.

Give me one word to describe the board's plan this summer…

I honestly don't think there's been a plan or a strategy. 

There should have been a resignation?

Of course. I've just launched a vote of no confidence which is about nothing other than them all resigning. In the same way Barça's a unique club in that the socios choose the board, we can also protest to remove them. It's a democracy. And those that have taken us into theis serious institutional, social and economic situation are not the ones to get us out of it. It's urgent and necessary for Barça that this board resigns immediately. 

It is the board that have failed on the signings?

However you look at it, the first person responsible is the president of Barça.

If you had Bartomeu in front of you, what would you say? 

I don't have a bad relationship with Bartomeu. We're sons of this city and have known each other for years. I would tell him go, to leave now, that he's tried, but he's not succeeded. 

Sandro Rosell has been president in the shadows?

In a report I read on the process about Rosell's detainment, the police said that in telephone conversations they deduced that Rosell was still running Barcelona. I'm not saying that Bartomeu is Rosell's puppet, but that he has been important in the most important decisions Barça have taken. 

How will the summer affect the vote of no confidence?

I give a lot of importance to the vote of no confidence. It's not a frivolous matter, it's an instrument we have to take important decisions. I wouldn't launch it because of a bad result of a poor signing. However, there are thousands of socios that will support it for sporting reasons. In the same way the treble gave Bartomeu the presidency, the bad management in sporting terms could make him resign. 

Will you get the signatures?

I'm aware of the difficulty of the challenge and to get 16,500 signatures is an historic challenge, never done before. But it's possible. The discontent is growing every day. 

Is it difficult to organise? Expensive?

The budget we have is 200,000 euros and Lluis Geli and I have taken responsibility for it. 

If there are elections, will you stand? 

In principle, yes. 

Bartomeu could call an early election? 

I don't rule it out, he did it in 2015. He has the football team not in the best harmony, people disagreeing with his management, there's been a poor transfer window, the economic situation is worrying, Rosell's in prison and there's a vote of no confidence. It would be logical for him to do so to reduce the tension. 

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