A number of top officials at Barcelona are set to be axed by club president Josep Bartomeu following a suspicion about their role in a ploy to see him overthrown, club vice-president Emil Rousaud has revealed. The latter confirmed on Wednesday that he has been asked to step down for allegedly leading a rebellion to sabotage the current administration.
Recent reports from Spain have indicated that President Bartomeu is convinced the numerous off-field controversies that have emerged at the club is part of a plan to stain his legacy going in the final year of his tenure. According to him, none other than Emil Rousaud - the man that has been tipped to be his successor - is among a host of other directors behind the ploy whose execution has seen Barca skipper Lionel Messi slamming the club's hierarchy publicly.
As a result, the management of Los Blaugrana is set to undergo reform and the 54-year-old has been asked to vacate his post as the club's vice-president despite only being elected in January 2020.
"Bartomeu called me and told me he wanted to change the management because he was suspicious of some of the directors, I included," Rousaud told Cadena Ser radio on Wednesday.
"Things had been leaked to the press that damaged the players and he thought I had been critical of how the board had handled it.
"I told Bartomeu that I talk to the press but hadn't leaked anything and that I hadn't criticized the players. "I also told him that, as in business, some people are more trustworthy than others."I didn't much appreciate him doing all this over the phone and without prior warning."
Regarding Rousaud's intention to run for the next presidential campaign while currently facing an ax, he said: "According to the statutes, the president can demote me, but he cannot expel me. It's true there was a consensus that I could lead the current board in the elections and I would love to be president, but I hadn't presented my candidacy."
The relationship between Barca's players and the board has seemingly hit an all-time low with a series of off-field issues constantly surfacing. Last month, the Catalans dominated headlines as the management was put under scrutiny due to the questionable manner in which Ernesto Valverde was sacked in January.
This subsequently led to the public spat between Leo Messi and club's sporting director Eric Abidal. Weeks later, news of Bartomeu allegedly hiring a PR agency to improve his public image by spreading false rumors on Barca's former and current players also emerged before Lionel Messi and Luiz Suarez went public to criticize the club's decision to slash the wages of players by 70 percent amid the coronavirus crisis.
