Fresh crisis rocks FC Barcelona as Former president Bartomeu arrested

New investigations are underway in Catalunya into allegations of wrongdoing by former Camp Nou board members.

Dailytimes can confirm that former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has been arrested as part of a new investigation into the infamous ‘Barcagate’ scandal at Camp Nou.

On Monday, former members of the Catalan club’s board of directors had been arrested following a raid on their offices by regional police officers.

The request for all relevant documentation to be passed over by Barca employees and for material relating to the long-running case to be seized by authorities began in the early hours of the morning.

Bartomeu’s administration has been accused of paying PR firm I3 to handle the club’s online presence.

I3 were reportedly paid to clean up Bartomeu’s image after he was chastised by a vocal fan base for disparaging the reputations of a number of current and former players, including Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique, and Xavi.

It’s been a year since allegations of wrongdoing by Barca board members first surfaced.

Barca and I3 were quick to deny the allegations, and a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) audit revealed that no defamation campaigns had been launched against specific individuals.

Although ties between Liga giants and I3 have been severed, police have continued to investigate the matter.

They raided Camp Nou’s offices for the first time in June 2020, and have now returned to continue their investigation.

Until proven guilty, everyone at the center of the allegations is presumed innocent.