Barça President Josep Maria Bartomeu meets with Barack Obama

LANDOVER, Maryland — Former United States President Barack Obama was in attendance as a guest of honor at FedExField on Wednesday night for the International Champions Cup match between Futbol Club Barcelona and Manchester United, where he coincided with Barça President Josep Maria Bartomeu. The two met briefly at halftime in one of the stadium’s luxury boxes.

During Mr. Obama’s encounter with Mr. Bartomeu, the Club President talked to the former Commander in Chief about the work the FC Barcelona Foundation’s is carrying out in the United States, as well as the FCBEscoles project, and the women’s football team the Club will be fielding in the country. The two also discussed the possibility of a future project involving both the Foundation and Mr. Obama.

Mr. Obama, the 44th president of the United States, was very cordial during the encounter. The former U.S. Senator from Illinois who was a two-term Commander in Chief from 2009 to 2017 is an avid basketball fan and told Mr. Bartomeu he followed soccer through his daughters, which is why he showed special interest in the women’s football project the Club has been promoting.

The meeting was organized by James Costos, who served as the U.S. Ambassador to Spain from 2013 to 2017, and is now a strategic advisor for the Club in the United States. Mr. Bartomeu, the Club President, had returned to Barcelona after spending the first few days with the team on tour and had gone back to Barcelona before returning to U.S. soil earlier on Wednesday.