Radio Cadena Sir in Spain revealed that Barcelona signed a contract with a specialized company in order to influence public opinion and distort the image of opponents via social media.
The radio said in a report today, Monday, that the Catalan club contracted with the company "E3 Ventur" in order to launch campaigns for the club president, Josep Maria Bartomeo, and the members of the board of directors, and to influence the image and distortion of the opponents.
She noted that the company is implementing that scheme using about a hundred accounts on Twitter and Facebook.
The attacks of these accounts were not limited to Bartomeo and his potential rivals as club president, and criticism extended to existing players in the team such as Lionel Messi, who was attacked because of his delay in renewing his contract with the club, while defender Gerard Pique was attacked because of his increasing preoccupation with his economic projects.
The Barcelona administration denied any relationship with those accounts, and said in a statement this evening that it had already contracted with the "E3 Ventures" company specialized in public relations, in order to monitor what is being circulated around the club through social media and interact with it in order to preserve the team's image.
The club confirmed that the company he contracted with had no relation to the accounts mentioned in the report, and he pledged to cancel the contract with that company if the contrary was proven.
This is the latest crisis in the Catalan club, and comes days after a major crisis between captain Messi and sports director Eric Abidal.
These developments add pressure on the club's president, who is accused of dealing badly with various crises, from Neymar's departure to the dismissal of former coach Ernesto Valverde.