Carles Tusquets: 'Elections as soon as possible'

The president of the FC Barcelona Managing Commission, Carles Tusquets, spoke to the press on Monday to explain what had happened at its first meeting.  The two main matters of discussion were the elections and the club’s finances in times of pandemic.

The idea is to set an election date for whenever is possible around Christmastime. “We set up a work group today that will liaise with the health authorities to ensure the full safety of our members while also ensuring the highest possible turnout” he said. “We will deploy all logistic and human resources to ensure it is well organised, always respecting the club statutes. We could promote postal voting too.”

As for the financial matter, he said that “we are living in an exceptional period that requires exceptional decisions by everyone involved … In order to balance the budget we need to reduce spending by 300 million euros … And this Commission thinks it is reasonable to implement certain measures to limit the consequences of this pandemic.”

The quickest way could be through the negotiations with the players and workers at the club, due to end on November 5, although Tusquets notes that “the idea is to defer payments and reach an agreement that will benefit all parties. There is willingness from all concerned, including Leo Messi and his agents.”

As for the winter transfer mark, Tusquets commented that "I feel we should only make a move if a player can come at zero cost. Or if a player is sold in the transfer window, then we could buy.”

“But all these decisions can be reversed by the next presidency. If the new Board wants to go back on everything we decided, then they are free to do so.”

To conclude, he said that “the club is on solid ground and has a strong future. There are a number of agreements on the table that could bring in a lot of income. There is hope in the medium term and if we are all committed to the tasks, we can all make it happen.”