Joan Carles de Borbó visits Barcelona to say goodbye to Josep Cusí

BarcelonaThe Spanish emeritus king, Juan Carlos de Borbón, was in Barcelona this Thursday to offer his condolences to the family of Josep Cusí, who died on Wednesday at the age of 92. According to La Vanguardia, Felipe VI's father wanted to pay tribute to the memory of who was one of his close friends, and spent a few hours at the home of the Barcelona businessman's family, where he was received by Cusí's widow, Inés Muiños. Juan Carlos de Borbón has been living in Abu Dhabi since 2020, when he settled there after the controversy over the investigation into his finances and the alleged irregularities of his personal business, and he had not visited Barcelona for ten years.

Josep Cusí and Juan Carlos de Borbón met during a hunt organized by the dictator Francisco Franco in 1972. They later cultivated a friendship resulting from various common interests, such as water sports. At first, they competed against each other and, shortly after the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, they began to compete together aboard the Bribón II, an 11-meter sloop, representing the Royal Nautical Club of Barcelona. Cusí competed as owner and the emeritus king as skipper. Since then, they forged a friendship that has lasted until the end.