Josep María Bartomeu · History

Barcelona was the city where Josep Maria Bartomeu i Floreta took over as president of FC Barcelona in January 2014, a post he held until October 2020. He was born in the Catalan capital on 6 February 1963 and has been a club member since 20 April 1974. A businessman by training, he combined a career in industry with more than a decade on Barça’s boards, first as a director, then as vice-president for sport and finally as president.

Education and business career

Bartomeu holds a degree in Business Administration and completed an Executive MBA at ESADE. His professional career is tied to ADELTE Group, an engineering company for ports and airports that specialises in passenger boarding bridges, where he is chief executive. The firm grew out of Trabosa, founded by his grandfather in 1962. He has also sat on the board of Equipo Facility Services.

First spell on the board (2003-2005)

He joined the club’s board in 2003 as a director on Joan Laporta’s ticket, which won that year’s election. He was put in charge of the basketball, handball and roller hockey sections. In March 2005 Laporta stripped him of those duties, and in June of the same year he resigned alongside Sandro Rosell and other directors who had broken with the president.

Vice-president for sport (2010-2014)

He returned in July 2010 with Rosell, whose ticket won the election with 61.35% of the vote. Bartomeu became vice-president for sport, a role he kept until January 2014. On 23 January that year Rosell resigned and Bartomeu, under article 33 of the club statutes, stepped into the presidency. A few weeks later, on 5 April 2014, members approved the Espai Barça project in a referendum, by 27,616 votes to 9,589. The plan covered the renovation of Camp Nou, a new Palau Blaugrana, the demolition of the Miniestadi and the construction of the Estadi Johan Cruyff in Sant Joan Despí; the last two were completed during his tenure.

Presidency and the 2015 election

The 2014-15 season ended with the club’s second treble: La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League, with Luis Enrique as coach. On the back of that, he called an election, held on 18 July 2015. Bartomeu won with 25,823 votes (54.63%), ahead of Joan Laporta on 15,615 (33.03%), Agustí Benedito on 3,386 and Toni Freixa on 1,750. In 2015-16 the first team added the UEFA Super Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup and another league and cup double. Under Ernesto Valverde a further double followed in 2017-18. In all, the men’s first team won 16 trophies during his presidency, including four league titles and four Copas del Rey; the club counted 115 trophies across all its sections. The women’s team turned professional in 2015 and an office opened in New York in 2016. The coaches of the period were Gerardo Martino, Luis Enrique, Ernesto Valverde, Quique Setién and Ronald Koeman. Revenue reached €914 million in 2017-18.

No-confidence motion and resignation (2020)

On 26 August 2020 a group of members and would-be candidates filed a motion of no confidence against the board. On 17 September its promoters handed in more than 20,000 signatures, above the 16,521 required by the statutes, and the vote was set for 1 and 2 November. The Catalan government turned down a request to push it back to 15 and 16 November. On 27 October 2020 Bartomeu announced his resignation and that of his entire board, and a caretaker committee ran the club until the 2021 election.

Legal cases

In 2015 prosecutors charged him, together with Rosell and the club, with tax offences over the signing of Neymar; in 2016 a settlement placed the conviction on the club, with a fine of €5.5 million. On 1 March 2021 the Mossos d’Esquadra arrested him in the so-called “Barçagate” investigation, along with Jaume Masferrer, Òscar Grau and Román Gómez Ponti. The following day the judge granted him provisional release after he chose not to testify. In the Negreira case, opened by a prosecutors’ complaint in March 2023, he was summoned as a formal suspect and appeared before judge Alejandra Gil on 18 September 2025.