The Barça, to hours to return to summon elections

Barça lives its most hectic hours in search of an endorsement by the president-elect, Joan Laporta, who fights against the timer to financially confirm his victory at the polls on March 7th. If before tomorrow, Wednesday, LaLiga does not receive the documentation and confirm the guarantee of 124.6 million euros (15% of the budget) in solidarity among the entire board, a management board will take over the club again to call a new process electoral. Asked this Tuesday at noon by GolTV in case he already had the endorsement, Laporta replied: “Yes, yes.” But LaLiga has not received anything.

Article 54 of the club's Bylaws dictates that: “If the electoral process has been initiated by the Management Commission due to the early termination of the mandate of the previous Board, the newly elected Board must take office within the ten calendar days following the date of the election. In the event that the law requires the provision of a guarantee, before taking office, the newly elected Board must have formalized the guarantee in the manner required by current regulations. Otherwise, it will not take place. the taking of possession of the elected Board and this governing body will be considered vacant, with which the Management Commission will be automatically constituted ”.

The only participant in the elections who was exonerated from presenting the endorsement was Jordi Vilajoana, since he was part of the board of encouragement until the last moment and this closed its exercise with benefits. The rest of the applicants had to present a guarantee that jointly covers 15% of the club's last budget.

In principle, Laporta claimed to have approved this guarantee, but the resignation last Sunday of Jaume Giró to continue being part of the project has turned the situation around. Giró was, in theory at least, the strong man of the former president's candidacy in the economic field. Former general director of La Caixa, Giró got off the boat a week after winning the elections and since then Laporta has been looking for managers and capitalists to cover a guarantee that would be executed by Banc Sabadell, but that it needs an external counter guarantee beyond the assets of the managers.

According to various information, the members of the Laporta board would cover 50 million of the guarantee, so there would be more than 70 missing. Laporta contacted the North American investment fund HPS Partners to cover this hole, which was ruled out once it entered the scene. Audax, a renewable energy company chaired by José Elías. Since Elías does not meet the conditions to be a director (he does not have the required seniority as a partner), it would be Eduard Romeu, his right hand, who would join the board as a strong man in the economic field.

However, the negotiations are still difficult. Last night they broke and this noon, according to Mundo Deportivo, they have run amok. A whole race against the clock to avoid a new election.