Businessman and former Barça president Enric Reyna dies
He managed the Barcelona club during the months leading up to the 2003 elections.
BarcelonaFormer FC Barcelona president Enric Reyna has died in Barcelona at the age of 85. He led the club in the months leading up to the 2003 elections, in which Joan Laporta won the presidency for the first time. A businessman in the construction and hotel sectors, he was part of Joan Gaspart's board and led the club from February 13 to May 5, 2003, during one of the most turbulent periods in the club's recent history. After his resignation, and following the formation of an interim committee chaired by Joan Trayter, elections were held, which Reyna won against Joan Laporta for the first time. Born in Barcelona on May 15, 1940, Reyna became a Barça member on September 15, 1965. In 2000, Josep Lluís Núñez stepped down as Barça president and called early elections, which Gaspart won. Reyna, who considered himself a "good friend" of Gaspart, whom he had known for years through their hotel business, joined the Barça board of directors, although it wasn't until 2002 that he became first vice-president. By then, Barça was already immersed in a major economic and sporting crisis. Gaspart, who was beginning to feel pressure to resign, needed someone he could trust to take the reins of the club. Finally, he announced his resignation on February 12, 2003, and the following day Reyna became the 40th president in Barça's history. According to the statutes, he could have served until 2004. This was, in fact, his initial intention.
The first EuroLeague title for Barça's basketball section
Reyna was able to celebrate the Copa del Rey and the Euroleague basketball titles, two triumphs for a legendary team coached by Svetislav Pešić and featuring stars like Sarunas Jasikevicius, Dejan Bodiroga, Gregor Fucka, and a very young Juan Carlos Navarro on the court. But these victories weren't enough at a club where, historically, the performance of the men's first football team is what truly matters.
When Reyna became president, Radomir Antić had already replaced Louis van Gaal as manager of the first team, and Barça managed a modest comeback in La Liga, which was enough to qualify them for the UEFA Cup. In the Champions League, they even dared to dream, coming within a whisker of reaching the semifinals. The elimination against Juventus proved decisive. This harsh dose of reality led to his early resignation three months after taking office, yielding to pressure from the club's supporters and powerful Catalan interests who demanded a radical change in its management.
The businessman and the board of directors announced their collective resignation at an extraordinary general meeting held on May 5th. Before handing over the reins to the interim management committee, Reyna showed the delegates two envelopes that he intended to deposit with a notary. He explained that inside was the roadmap he would have followed to close the season without financial losses, a kind of safety net to prevent anyone from holding him accountable if the numbers ended up in the red.
A developer and builder, Reyna was a prominent figure in the Catalan construction industry. For 35 years, he presided over the Catalan Developers Association (APCE), until he stepped down in 2012, at the height of the real estate crisis. A few months later, in 2013, his company, Amrey, filed for bankruptcy, a common occurrence in the sector at that time, which it was unable to overcome. However, he did maintain his hotel business and a company dedicated to renting homes, parking spaces, and commercial premises. In addition to his private businesses and his time as a director of FC Barcelona, Reyna also presided over Fira de Barcelona and was one of the driving forces behind the Construmat trade fair, dedicated to the construction industry. Last year, the College of Technical Architects of Barcelona (CATEB) awarded him a prize for his professional career.