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Legendary team player and coach doesn't hide his anger about the advertisements on the Catalan club's shirts and, as always, doesn't beat around the bush.
The uniqueness of the club was sold for pennies.
"I categorically oppose any advertising slogans on Barcelona shirts. Even if huge amounts of money are paid for it. I would say the same even if the club were run by another president, with different people on the board. Perhaps they would find a different solution to the problem.
Where the current club leadership sees huge money - 30 million euros a year, I see only 6 or 7 percent of the total club budget.
We were unique. Throughout our history, no one dared to tarnish the shirts and no ads were needed because we were able to make money in other ways. Not only did we survive, but we also successfully competed with financially strong clubs that long ago "decorated" their shirts with commercial advertisements.
Did they value their uniqueness at 6 - 7 percent of the club's annual budget? Could they have sold their exclusivity?
They took the easy way out.
Did the club leadership fail to make money in other ways using Barca's image as a unique club?
Was the marketing genius of the new club leadership manifested in such a simple way? Were the previous presidents too foolish and unable to make money in this way?
I do not believe in excuses like "... we were forced", "... the club's financial situation is poor", "... blame the old management." What right do current leaders have to destroy what Presidents Josep Lluís Núñez and Joan Gaspart created? Do you think that people who previously ran the club could not follow the path of wisdom followed by 99.9 percent of the world's clubs?
They could, but they preserved the club's traditions. Though it was much harder for them, they looked for other ways. They did not taint "blaugrana" with ads. Did everyone sleep before and only current managers found an unexpected way to earn a lot of money?
Those who work for three months have no right to interfere with tradition.
These "clever ones" managed to destroy in just three months what the club had created for over a hundred years. They destroyed Barca - a unique and unwavering club - image. How can one decide to destroy the club's traditions so sacredly preserved from the very beginning of its founding?
We lost more than we will gain.
We lose more than we gain. This is a huge step backward. We became vulgar. We do the same as everyone else. We lost our uniqueness, which set us apart from others. Barcelona is not just a club. It is a symbol of the city of Barcelona, a symbol of Catalonia. The club's board needed to find other ways, then it would be respected.
They took the easy way: as if at an auction, they sold the club's shirts to whoever offered more. I emphasize - they even sold not their own shirts. Ours. And they didn't even consult us.
Is the contract already so profitable?
I would understand if the advertising contract on Barca shirts covered 60 or 80 percent of the club's expenses. Then, speaking simply, you could spit on traditions, send everyone to hell, and be tempted by a huge sum. But tradition was trampled for 6-7 percent...
Why was the contract signed for five years? Didn't the club leadership know that long-term contracts are risky? What looks like a lot and stable today will not look like much tomorrow or the day after. Other clubs will sign even bigger contracts after a year or two. And we won't be so unique for average money, that someone will offer something exclusive after 5 years...
What does the club owe the new advertising providers? What will Barca have to do for those 30 million?
No one says if there are clauses in the contract requiring to play a certain number of friendly matches. We do not know how many times the club's players and coaches are obliged to participate in various presentations. Where will the presentations take place? How many people will attend them? Will the players be distracted from the training process or will they have time to prepare for the matches?
Barca was an exceptional club. Not only because it did not wear ads. Barca was exceptional for its work with the youth team, for its philosophy and style of play. These traits are not the merit of the current leadership.
Just look at the budgets of the major European clubs and you will see that success does not come from money. Barca is the best example. Victories can be won with clean shirts without any sponsor logos. By disregarding one tradition and tarnishing the shirts, don't even think about what is left - the pupils.
