In the first week of Joan Laporta’s second reign as Barcelona president, the club has been eliminated from the Champions League in the round of 16. Additionally, one of Laporta’s crucial board members, Jaume Giro, has rendered in his resignation from the post of financial vice president at the club.
The reason behind his removal happens to be a disagreement regarding his role at the club between the new President and Giro himself, who is a former executive of Fundacio Caixabank. A lawyer by profession, Giro wanted to be the president of club finances and contributed a fair amount of funds towards Barcelona.
As of now, he is no longer a part of Barcelona’s future plans despite having been crucial in negotiations with banks regarding the financial aid from them. Giro handed in his resignation on Saturday, but the knowledge that the lawyer would resign from his post was with Laporta days before it officially happened.
The letter formally states that Giro has professional requirements in London and will be unable to devote the adequate amount of time that Barcelona needs from the post he would take up.
Laporta will have to turn to another party for not only taking up the post of financial vice president but also in terms of negotiating with financial institutions. The new President needs to produce 15% of Barcelona’s new budget, which amounts to be €125 million alongside his board before he is sworn into the role.
Barcelona have debt in excess of €1 billion, and the task at hand is not getting any easier for Joan Laporta.
