Barcelona’s Spotify deal, Laporta disagreements behind CEO Ferran Reverter’s exit
Barcelona chief executive officer Ferran Reverter has resigned, with sources telling ESPN that the club’s sponsorship deal with Spotify was the latest in a series of contentious issues between the CEO and president Joan Laporta.
Reverter had been seen as a key member of Laporta’s management team since taking up the position in July, as Barca look to restructure their finances and deal with the club’s €1.35 billion debt.
A statement on Barcelona’s website on Tuesday cited “personal and family reasons” for Reverter’s exit, which will come into effect as soon as a new CEO is appointed.
However, sources told ESPN that Reverter had disagreed with Laporta over a number of issues ever since he took the job at Camp Nou.
The agreement with Spotify was seen as the last straw, sources said.
Reverter had played a fundamental role in negotiations with the Swedish company, but he was unhappy with the final terms of the deal, many of which had been revised at the last minute.
According to ESPN sources, the LaLiga side have agreed a three-year deal with the streaming music platform worth €280 million ($320m).
The debate over the Spotify deal was just the latest among numerous disagreements and some moments of tension between Reverter and Laporta.
The streaming company is in the middle of a controversy over content by comedian Joe Rogan, whose podcast on Spotify has millions of devoted fans but has angered some people who have found his comments offensive or misleading.
The deal will see Barca’s men’s and women’s team bearing the Spotify logo on their shirts while the company will be the first brand to sponsor the club’s Camp Nou stadium, with an official announcement expected on Tuesday, sources said.
In recent days, sources told ESPN that the CEO had been in Miami seeking alternatives to Spotify, including a potential link-up with a company specialising in cryptocurrency.
In fact, this was not the first time that Reverter had considered resigning, sources said.
Nonetheless, the departure of the executive, who previously worked for the retail group MediaMarkt, will be seen as a significant blow to Laporta and his board’s efforts to get Barca’s finances back on track.
Last week Laporta said that Barca’s previous board could face criminal charges of misappropriation of funds and false accounting after a forensic investigation into the club’s accounts.
Their predecessors had left the club in €1.35bn of debt, with losses in recent years of €600m, he said.
Reverter was seen as an important figure in Barcelona’s decision to continue to stand alongside Real Madrid and Juventus in the European Super League project, as well as the club’s rejection of LaLiga’s CVC investment deal.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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