Madrid (AFP)
The start of the big maneuvers: after the historic 8-2 rout against Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Friday, FC Barcelona called an extraordinary meeting of the management committee in the coming days, "certainly Monday", argued the Catalan media this Sunday.
"The president (Josep Maria Bartomeu) has urgently called an imminent steering committee meeting, which will take place early next week, possibly Monday," sports newspaper Mundo Deportivo said this Sunday in its online edition, confirming a information given by the RAC1 radio the day before.
"The blaugrana executive committee will meet tomorrow (Monday), Setién will be dismissed and a date could already be brought forward for the elections" for the club's presidency, the Catalan daily L'Esportiu wrote on Sunday. Asked, the club has not yet wished to communicate on this subject.
After the terrible 8-2 debacle in the Champions League quarter-finals on Friday against Bayern Munich in Lisbon, Barça president Josep Maria Bartomeu, usually silent after matches, spoke at the microphone of the Spanish channel Movistar + to apologize to the Blaugrana supporters.
"Decisions will be announced and explained in the coming days, some of which were already recorded before, even before the resumption of the Champions League," said the leader.
Himself in the sights after Barça's nightmare season, the first untitled in 13 years, Bartomeu could advance the date of the presidential elections (initially scheduled for summer 2021) to November, January or March, informs Mundo Deportivo in order to launch the reconstruction of Barça around a new project.
The pre-candidates Victor Font, Jordi Farré, Joan Laporta and Lluis Fernandez Ala, expected during a televised debate around the future of FC Barcelona this Sunday evening on the Catalan regional channel TV3, displayed their disapproval of the management of the current leadership Friday night after the defeat and were all in favor of an early election.
The future of French sports director Eric Abidal as well as coach appointed in January Quique Setién would also be on the table at this meeting, according to Spanish sports newspaper As. Even the contract extension of superstar Lionel Messi ( which runs until 2021) should be discussed, according to specialized media.
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