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On Saturday, before the match of the Spanish second league teams "Barcelona B" and "Girona," the president of the Catalonia club Jose Maria Bartomeu gave an exclusive interview to the TV3 television channel.
During the week, "Barcelona" suffered three consecutive losses, which means that this season the team may finish without any trophies.
Truth be told, the Catalans still have mathematical possibilities to compete for the titles of Spanish champions, but they have already withdrawn from the fight for the Champions League cup, and in the decisive King's Cup match, they lost to Madrid's "Real" team.
The "Black April" greatly heated passions in the team's fan camp, and a wave of criticism poured into the country's sports newspapers. Everyone was stumbled: the team's players, the head coach Gerardo Martino, and, of course, the club leaders.
There were rumors about the necessity of holding new presidential elections this summer, but J. M. Bartomeu rejected such a possibility.
"The board of directors believes that it is capable of continuing to work. Furthermore, the current mandate is valid until the summer of 2016, so we still have two years, therefore early elections will not be organized. It is obvious that the team needs changes, but I want to emphasize that it won't be a revolution, we will just make the necessary adjustments," noted the president.
According to J. M. Bartomeu, some decisions have already been made, but it is still too early to talk about them.
"Some decisions have already been made. Other decisions will be made later, but for now, we do not want to talk about them because the season is still ongoing, and the team has a few final weeks ahead. The board has complete trust in the team's sports director, and I believe Andoni Zubizarreta can continue in his role. All changes will be made only with his knowledge and under his guidance. I want to emphasize once again that we are talking about modifying and remodeling the current team, not about a revolution," emphasized the Catalonia team's leader.
However, there are still negotiations, explanations, and possibly even legal disputes awaiting "Barcelona" with FIFA, which decided to ban the team from buying or selling any players for one year.
The issue of Lionel Messi was also not left unaddressed.
According to the president, the contract with the player will be reviewed and adjusted: "Lionel Messi has a contract with the club that is valid until the summer of 2018, but we need to sit down and discuss certain nuances. This is not a new contract. I am talking about the current agreement. It needs to be adjusted and adapted considering the current situation in football and modern trends. In any case, Lionel will continue to be the leader of 'Barcelona' in the future."
"Both the club leaders and Lionel Messi see and understand that there are a lot of unfair comments constantly appearing in the media about what is happening with the player and the processes inside the club. He is still a young player, and the team leaders fully trust him and have no doubts about his abilities to lead the team to victories," reassured J. M. Bartomeu.
As the president stated, the decision regarding the future of the head team coach will be made only after the end of the season, following personal conversations with Gerardo Martino himself.
"Now the coach has five final matches, and 'Tata' must stay with the team. We have a great respect for the coach. After the season, I will personally meet with him, and we will talk about his plans and responsibilities. Now we need to let him work with the players," concluded the "Barcelona" leader.
