The worst Barça at the worst moment

Barça is going through one of the worst moments in its history. The last years have been marked by a progressive degradation in all fields: in the sport field, in the economic field and in the no less important one of the values associated to the institution. Barçagate exploding again suddenly in the home stretch of the most atypical electoral campaign the club has ever had -because of how it has come by and the pandemic-, only reinforces this plummet in the prestige of a club affected by corruption and foul play by the management. A lousy management has squandered the sporting successes and the civic and social credibility. Barça has gone from touching the sky to being immersed in a deep and painful crisis. The end of Josep Maria Bartomeu is the end of an era, of a generation of leaders had the world at their feet and have ended in the worst way: the arrest of the former president and those who were his three trusted executives, interrogated by the Mossos throughout the day on charges of misuse of funds and corruption, illustrates the descent into hell. The Barça is touching rock bottom and it does so coinciding with critical moments for Catalan society.

The situation calls for a radical and urgent change. The country's leading sporting institution, which, as its slogan says, has been "more than a club" and is an international brand of great impact, needs more than ever to start again on new foundations. With the utmost seriousness in order to regain public trust. With La Masia as a beacon, it had been an example to follow: it showed that it was possible to be part of the international professional elite while working with grassroots football. With women's football, they made a commitment to generational change and a change of mentality. With the maintenance of the sections we were able to work on a plural identity, with a vocation for social penetration. And with all these legs, which were both sporting and social, we had connected with an ideology of civic values. But all this has been put in danger. In the midst of the speculative drift of world football, the club's management has played with fire to the point of producing a real mess, which is economic, undoubtedly, but also sporting and social. The problem of the cash flow is serious and will mortgage the coming years of the club. Therefore, what is needed is a management team that is not afraid to roll up its sleeves, to get to work to link up with the best version of Barça, when throughout history it has been able to unite victories on the pitch with public prestige, with synergies in the educational, business and social world.

In the world of professional sport not everything should be acceptable. It is clear that it is an environment that lacks transparency and democracy. But Barça, instead of falling into malpractice, should want to distance itself from it, should aspire to win by playing fair. This is the great challenge of the club for the next decade. To open a new stage, to aspire to everything from an unquestionable ethical vision of excellence and professional rigour: to lead such a change is what can give pride back to the club, both to its members and its supporters. It is what can make it "more than a club" once again.