Gaspart to resign as Barcelona president
Barcelona president Joan Gaspart announced on Friday that he would present his resignation to a general assembly of the club on March 1 and that elections to choose a successor would be held at the end of the season.
Barcelona president Joan Gaspart announced on Friday that he would present his resignation to a general assembly of the club on March 1 and that elections to choose a successor would be held at the end of the season.
"The time has come because of the situation facing the club that I have had to take a very difficult decision," Gaspart told a news conference on Friday.
"I will inform the club members on March 1 of my intention to renounce my position as president."
Gaspart said that after his resignation, vice-president Enric Reyna would occupy his post until elections were held at the beginning of June.
Gaspart, who is head of a leading Spanish hotel chain, was elected president of Barcelona in July 2000.
He had been a vice-president during the 22-year reign of the club's longest serving president Josep Lluis Nunez and gained just under 55 percent of the votes in the election in which all the members of the club are entitled to take part.
The 58-year-old businessman had come under heavy pressure to give up his post in recent weeks as a result of the team's wretched run of form in the league and disagreements over his running of the club.
The rifts at the club became wider than ever this week when one of Gaspart's closest supporters Salvador Alemany announced that he would be giving up his post as vice-president.
Alemany, who had been on the Barcelona board for 20 years, was the sixth vice-president to quit since Gaspart became president in July 2000.
His resignation came days after the club's decision to replace Dutch coach Louis van Gaal, who returned to the club at the start of the season on the personal recommendation of Gaspart.
Yugoslav coach Radomir Antic was appointed as van Gaal's replacement at the end of last week, but the move left Gaspart more exposed than ever.
It also failed to bring about an immediate change in fortunes on the sporting front as the Catalan side slumped to their third league defeat in a row.
The 3-0 drubbing at Atletico Madrid meant Barcelona dropped to 15th in the first division just three points above the relegation zone.