ONE | system
Messi and Pique (Reuters)
Much more will be said about Josep Maria Bartomeu’s rule in Barcelona, when the investigation against him and against managers at the Catalan club still continues. Today (Thursday) the Catalan “Sport” revealed some of the materials that are in the possession of the police in Barcelona, among other very difficult internal correspondences in which senior managers of the club curse the stars of the team.
One of those conversations is with Roman Gomes Ponti, the head of the legal department under Bartomeu, who in his correspondence refers to Leo Messi as a “rat” and a “hormonal dwarf”, while he calls Jared Pique a “son of a ***”. The same Gomes Ponti is accused of leaking the contracts of both of them at the height of the crisis against the biggest star.
In March 2020, Gomes Ponti wrote a long email to Bartomeu, where he proposed “extreme measures” to reduce the players’ salary budget. He writes: “It wouldn’t be a bad idea if we leaked the players’ contracts to the media, so that everyone would see the billions of dollars they pocket every year. We will blackmail them before the public.”
In January 2021, the El Mundo newspaper opened its front page with the famous headline: “555,237,619, Messi’s sick contract destroys Barca”. Messi and his people wanted to take legal action due to the leaking of the details of his contract, but it is not known to this day if this actually happened.”
Gomes Ponti also writes: “Barto (Bartomeu) really, it is impossible to be a good person anymore with this rat (Messi). The club gave him everything and he became a dictator who determines the signings, transfers and renewals of the contract according to his personal benefit.”
The head of the club’s legal department also writes: “I won’t be able to do it in my lifetime, but the contract renewals of Suarez and Jordi Alba should be added to Messi’s contract. Or the commission on Enso Fati’s contract (Rodrigo Messi was his agent at the time)? Rodrigo (Messi’s father) doesn’t even know how to read the contract they signed, he brought a drug dealer as his partner.”
“In the end, after all this, after we are rudely blackmailed, everyone who works here in the management and you (Bartomeu and his people) only suffer from this hormonal dwarf who owes Barcelona his whole life”, Gomes Ponti continues. “But when things become difficult like with Corona, they send you messages – Mr. President, cut everyone’s salary but don’t touch Messi and Suarez.” According to the information contained in these emails, Bartomeu agreed with most of what his head of legal department said.
