A new platform is born to dethrone Joan Laporta

BarcelonaMarc Ciria officially launched his Movement 42 on Tuesday. The Barcelona-based financier, very active in recent years in economic and institutional analyses of the presidencies of Josep Maria Bartomeu and Joan Laporta, is leading a new pre-candidacy to turn the page on the club's governance. His main asset is the "real solutions" that he and his team have presented in recent months to "generate cash" during a time of economic vulnerability and... fair play Exceeded and in order to monetize digital assets, one of the pending issues in the world of top-level football.

Movement 42 is so named because, according to Ciria's calculations, the next Barça president will be the forty-second. It's also because it's the street number where the pre-candidate's mother's family business is located, a hair salon in the Les Corts neighborhood, the location of the Bikini nightclub, where the presentation took place and where many Barça players, especially during the Ronaldinho and Deco era, celebrated sporting successes. Barça has also been headquartered in Les Corts for over 100 years.

"We are a candidacy to win the next Barça elections, of course we are, but above all we want to preserve the legacy. When things aren't working, you have to change them, you have to start over. We mustn't get caught up in personal interests or entrenched positions. Our movement is the only one that has presented real solutions. We must modernize the club with real professionals. We are not some kind of sham. I feel expelled by prohibitive prices, by the games of buying and downloading tickets, by the absence of a dedicated fan zone and the largest sports association movement in the world, the supporters' clubs, because now they don't suit us," Ciria proclaimed on the Bikini stage, where he was accompanied by a trio. There were about 700 people in the room, mostly Barça members, on a very rainy day in the city.

Messi, a "structural" name

Another key point the Catalan financier emphasized in his presentation was Barça's connection to Leo Messi. "He can't come to the stadium secretly in the early hours," complained Ciria, who added that the Argentine is "essential" to the economic regeneration plan he has for the club, without specifying whether he envisions him as a player or in a sporting or institutional role. "The debt has grown in recent years, we haven't increased revenue despite inflation, and perhaps because of all this, these are the last elections we'll experience as Barça members," stated the pre-candidate, who admitted to contacts with Laporta, Víctor Font, and other figures within the Barça sphere. For now, he will proceed alone, without forming alliances with other pre-candidates who have already announced their candidacies, such as Font himself, Xavier Vilajoana, or Joan Camprubí Montal.