FC Barcelona President Sandro Rosell: "I intend to stand for re-election"

Barcelona (FCB).- Barça President Sandro Rosell expects to be standing for re-election to the FC Barcelona presidency when members go to the polls in 2016. He made his announcement at the club’s Senate meeting on Monday at midday in the brand new Auditorium 1899. “My intention is to stand for re-election and ask the members to keep their confidence in my ability to deal with the challenges we have set ourselves” he said.

Rosell is looking forward to the challenges of the present and future. “Together we have to build the future that Barça deserves. We want to continue being a club that sets standards through its playing style, its management system, its values, because of its concern for its nation and because it helps children and young people. We want to keep growing. We are on the right track and we are very excited about the present and the future ahead”, said the FC Barcelona President.

“Tito and Abidal, triumphs of life”

The Barça President also told the club’s Senate about developments in different areas of FC Barcelona, including sporting achievements. “This year we have won something more important than any trophy. We are convinced that this has been a very special one”, he commented. “The recovery of our Manager, Tito Vilanova, and the return of Abidal to active football have provoked emotions that are as intense as or even more intense than anything any title can bring. These have been triumphs of life, victories that reward the struggles of human beings that reach beyond the boundaries of sport”.

He added that “the strength that this team has shown is out of this world. They have all warmed our hearts and now we are on the verge of being rewarded for our perseverance and determination, a League title that, if we get it, will be one of the most special in club history … a League that will be our fourth in five years and that will certify this period in which Barça have dominated Spanish football”.

We are on the verge of being rewarded for our perseverance and determination, a League title that, if we get it, will be one of the most special in club history

In his speech, Rosell also mentioned basketball player Pete Mickeal, who will miss the rest of the season through illness.

One of the main aims of Sandro Rosell and the Board of Directors was to restructure the club’s economy. “With much effort and along the lines of austerity and cost reductions, we have been readdressing the situation” said a president who was pleased to say that following a year of record profits, “this year we are on the right track, but our challenge is still to reduce our debt”. He expects the season to end with Barça “less than 300 million” in the red. “The objective is to reach the end of this mandate with a debt of around 200 million, a sustainable figure”. The idea is not to be dependent on banks and to be able to cover investments in new assets, such as the future Camp Nou and Palau.

Still talking on financial issues, Rosell ended by saying that “we will need to make certain sacrifices and to find strong and solvent sponsors … There is no doubt that our agreement with Qatar Sports Investments has played a key role in improving our economic situation”.