Barcelona president Bartomeu resigns
Josep Maria Bartomeu, who was set to face a vote of no confidence as Barcelona president, stepped down Tuesday.
The decision comes days after Barcelona's 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in El Clasico and a mere 24 hours before their Champions League match against Juventus.
The rest of Barcelona's board also tendered their resignation.
"I want to communicate my resignation along with the rest of the board," Bartomeu said in a official announcement. "It's a composed and relaxed decision, agreed with all my fellow directors."
A motion was filed against Bartomeu in August, shortly after Lionel Messi announced his desire to leave Barcelona. The petition, initiated by club member Jordi Farre, had cleared the 16,520 signatures required to force a referendum.
He would've been the third president in club history to face a vote of no confidence after Josep Lluis Nunez in 1998 and Joan Laporta in 2008.
In order to remove Bartomeu as president, 66.5% of the club's 150,000 members would've had to vote against him and the board.
Messi publicly criticized Bartomeu after he denied the Argentine's request to terminate his contract. He also came under intense scrutiny for hiring a social media firm to smear former and current players.
Six directors resigned, including two vice presidents, as a result of the social media scandal.
A police investigation into allegations of corruption is ongoing.
Bartomeu had long resisted calls to step down, saying as recently as Monday "it would be the worst time to leave Barca to an interim management board."
An election must now take place within the next 90 days, according to Tariq Panja of The New York Times. A temporary board will run the club until then.
Victor Font and Laporta are the two most popular candidates running for election. Font has promised to bring on former midfielder Xavi in a sporting capacity if he wins the presidency.
Bartomeu was appointed president in 2014 after the resignation of Sandro Rosell, who was accused of covering up the true cost of Neymar's transfer to Barcelona.
Bartomeu oversaw the treble-winning 2014-15 campaign and was re-elected for another six years. Barcelona, however, finished trophyless for the first time in 12 years last season while recording €97 million in losses, largely due to the coronavirus pandemic.
His resignation could now have impact on Messi's future. The 33-year-old's contract with Barcelona expires next June.
"It has been a long time since there has been a project or anything at all," Messi said in September. "They are always juggling and plugging gaps."