Josep Maria Bartomeu: Life is easy with Messi

Josep Maria Bartomeu: Life is easy with Messi

The FC Barcelona president describes the way that the club operates and its future objectives in an interview with France Football

"The important thing for us is that the members can feel happy and proud of their players and their team” says Josep Maria Bartomeu. And there is no doubt that in 2015 that mission was more than accomplished, with the team winning five major trophies and Leo Messi collecting the Ballon d’Or for the fifth time.

"If it’s not a monopoly” comments the FC Barcelona president, “what I can say is that we have dominated the Ballon d’Or for the last ten years, with Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and now Neymar".

Messi the symbol of success

"We have more than 450 million fans around the world” he continues. “Things work at this club because our decisions are all based around the ball, whether that means the players, sport in general or marketing. That’s not a new way of doing things. It’s all come from the Masia and Cruyff".

He also explains that the club is looking to make more than a thousand million euros of income in 2021, because “football is growing and we need to be one of the agents of that growth.”

For him, nobody exemplifies Barça better than Leo Messi. “He’s obsessed with the team’s results” says Bartomeu. “He symbolises the Masia’s achievements. Life is so much easier with Messi. Since he made it into the first team in 2004, alongside Iniesta, things have gone great for us".

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