Barcelona (AFP)

Six days before the election of a new president, the police raided the headquarters of FC Barcelona on Monday and arrested several people including, according to media reports, its former president Josep Maria Bartomeu.

The agents of the economic crimes department of the "Mossos d'Esquadra", the Catalan regional police, took over the club's offices located at Camp Nou on Monday morning, a spokesman for the Mossos told AFP.

"We are in the process of carrying out an operation," said this spokesperson before adding a little later that "arrests" had been made in this context.

Barça was content to point out for its part that the police had come to the headquarters of the Catalan club in the morning.

This twist comes at a time when the team is experiencing a return to form in La Liga after months of sporting crisis, the climax of which was the slap inflicted at home by Paris SG in the Champions League on February 16 ( 1-4).

The spokesperson for the Catalan regional police, on the other hand, refused to disclose the identities of those arrested but, according to several media - including Cadena Ser radio, generally very well informed on the affairs of the Blaugrana club -, Mr. Bartomeu in is part.

La Cadena Ser also ensures that the director general in place, Oscar Grau, and the legal director, Roman Gomez Ponti, were also arrested.

- "Barçagate" -

Contacted by AFP, the judicial authorities took refuge behind the secrecy of the investigation but still confirmed that the magistrate who ordered these searches was the one who was investigating the "Barçagate" scandal.

This case erupted a year ago after an investigation by Cadena Ser into an alleged campaign of slander against Barça figures (such as star Lionel Messi or defender Gerard Pique) on social networks, orchestrated by a company working for the club.

The press then stressed that the aim of this campaign was to improve the image of Josep Maria Bartomeu, the people targeted being all critical of the president, who resigned on October 27.

The radio had shown that the club had paid one million euros in six separate invoices to this company, I3 Ventures, with whom Barca have since cut ties.

That is an amount six times higher than market prices, according to the press.

The club then categorically denied any defamation campaign.

"Have they been tasked with monitoring social media? The answer is yes. Have they been tasked with discrediting people or institutions on social media? The answer is no. And we will prosecute anyone who accuses us. from that, ”Bartomeu defended himself.

Criticized by a large fringe of supporters, players and club members, Josep Maria Bartomeu ended up resigning at the end of October after a long crisis, with his entire management committee.

Remained six and a half years at the head of Barça, he had come close to losing the living legend Lionel Messi who had indicated at the end of August that he wanted to terminate his contract "unilaterally", disappointed by the results of his team and even more by the decisions of its leaders who in particular chose to separate from his great friend Luis Suarez.

These searches and arrests come six days before the elections for the presidency of the club scheduled for Sunday, where the socios (supporters-shareholders) will be called upon to choose between Joan Laporta, Toni Freixa and Victor Font to succeed Bartomeu.

© 2021 AFP