A new embarrassment around FC Barcelona presided over by Josep Maria Bartomeu after some WhatsApp messages published by elPeriódico.com. In them, reference is made to Leo Messi as “this hormone dwarf” or “sewer rat”. Some messages where Gerard Piqué, Joan Laporta or Sergio Busquets are also mentioned. One more sign of the bad relationship that existed between the presidency and the heavyweights of the Blaugrana club at that time.
In the leaked screenshots we can read messages from Román Gómez Ponti, former head of the club’s legal department. All in an exchange of whatsapps where Bartomeu himself, Òscar Grau, Jordi Moix, Oriol Tomás, David Bellver, Pancho Schroder and Javier Sobrino also participated.
…you can’t be such a good person with this sewer rat.
Unconscionable attacks against Messi
These messages would have originated on January 31, 2021, the day on which ‘El Mundo’ published part of Messi’s contract. Gómez Pontí took advantage of this context to insult Messi in a disrespectful way, calling him “sewer rat” and “hormone rat”, through this instant messaging social network.
“Barto, really, you can’t be such a good person with this sewer rat. The club has given him everything and he has dedicated himself to mark a dictatorship of signings, transfers, renewals, patros (sponsors) just for him, etc. I will never be able to do it but to the figures of his contract should be added Pinto, the renewal of Suarez, and Jordi Alba, or the renewal fee of Fati (Rodrigo Messi, agent?).
But he doesn’t even know how to read and on top of that he had a drug dealer as a partner). And above all, the accumulation of blackmails and disrespect that the club and those of us who work have suffered from this hormone-ridden midget who owes Barça his life… ah! But when things go wrong (pandemic) you receive the mythical whatsapp: “presi, lower the salary of the others, but don’t touch me and Luis”. I hope he leaves amidst the indifference of the people, which is the worst thing that can happen to him (one more pessimist)”, as reported by elPeriódico.com.
Allusions to Laporta and insults to Piqué
Still in election campaign, the ex-directive Oriol Tomàs comes to speculate that Joan Laporta was the person who leaked the contract of the Argentine player. Although Bartomeu does not seem to agree, they all agree that it is a way to push the Argentine player to leave in order to “save 120 kilos”. In addition, the former president of the Catalan club admits that “this contract without pandemic was totally assumable”, but that at that time it represented 15% of its budget. An amount that he considered “correct”, especially “taking into account all that he generates”.
They also describe Gerard Piqué as “a big son of a bitch” just after the heavy defeat against Bayern by 2-8. Gómez Ponti, visibly angry at the complaints of the FC Barcelona center-back who, according to elPeriódico.com, said that all levels of the club needed changes.
Busquets… and even the entire squad.
Words that soon turned against the entire squad when, this time in a letter, Gómez Ponti called FC Barcelona players “spoiled and insensitive millionaires” in the midst of the Covid crisis and in negotiation for the reduction of contracts. Allegedly, the former director claims that “they have refused to agree with the club the minimum measures to ensure our economic viability”, in reference to the delicate moment the club was going through. In addition, he points to Bartomeu to encourage him to face “under your leadership the drastic reduction of the wage bill of the first soccer team”.
For example, Gómez Ponti goes so far as to advise Bartomeu to fire “those players who have no market and we can’t sell them (Busquets could be an excellent example) to fire them with a minimum compensation and forget that they have passed through the club because they are unsupportive,” the manager says.
Translated from 🇪🇸 Spanish via DeepL API
