Bartomeu offers support and defends Neymar and Messi against legal proceedings

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu, among other subjects, spoke about the current legal proceedings open against Lionel Messi and Neymar; alleged corruption in the Clasico; and the club’s financial situation in an interview with the programme ‘8 al dia’. 

With respect to the Neymar transfer, Bartomeu underlined that “not Barça, nor any of the club’s directors, have committed a crime.” And he expressed a certain amount of surprise for the fact that “there are a lot coincidences and it’s happened quite quickly. The National Court closed the matter, now it’s in a court in Barcelona. There is nothing criminal. It is a question of tax interpretation between Spain and Brazil which must be clarified.” 

He also touched on the quotes made by Neymar Sr. in an interview with SPORT recently, when he asked for guarantees over his son’s contract. Bartomeu assured that “Neymar’s father has a way of paying taxes in Spain and he wants to know if he’s doing it right. We will help him with anything he needs. As for Neymar, he has a contract until 2018, we will be discreet and announce [the new deal] when it’s done.“

Bartomeu also dismissed the possibility of Lionel Messi leaving the club at any point in the future. “His father [Jorge] has always said they don't imagine playing at a club that is not Barcelona. The [club’s] relationship with the family is very good. He renewed his deal one year ago and he has contract for the next three seasons. I read that Messi was leaving. Somebody should be embarrassed.” 

And he asked for “respect” for the player, who is being investigated for for a debt with the Tax Office. “It is not normal to have all this information published about Leo Messi — he is not culpable,” he said. “It surprises me that there is so much focus on Barca players. We will support all of them. If there have been mistakes, they must be solved.”

The Barcelona president also said the club must be careful financially because they can’t spend more than 65 percent of their revenue. “We should be within 65 percent — how do we reduce it? Not by reducing salaries, but by increasing income. That’s where out commercial efforts come in.” 

With regards to the allegations that an assistant referee has had pressured applied to him to favour Real Madrid over Barcelona in the upcoming Clasico, Bartomeu dismissed the idea of a conspiracy. “No, absolutely not,” he said, but he did ask for “an investigation, because it’s a serious [claim]. I hope in the end it’s nothing. I believe in the honesty of the referees.”