Ferrer: "The easy thing would have been to leave"

Barcelona presidential candidate Jaume Ferrer gave an interview to Catalan local radio station Radio Cabrera and Catalan online sports paper Yoya.


What makes you want to be the president of FC Barcelona?
It is a combination of passion and common sense. I go to watch the games since I was a kid, I never imagined I would be part of the board of Barça and now that the president cannot be re-elected I think I have the experience needed. I know the club, I know how to do it and that my passion for Barça together with my common sense can help the club to be better managed.

You say you will continue with the same project but change the style. Can you explain what you mean when you refer to "changing the style"?
It's very easy. We are starting an era in which the president and the directors should not be the main actors. The main actors should be the players, the coaches and the titles. The board has to make decisions but they should act discretely, the players and the coaches should be in the media spotlights.

Over the years, the club members and the fans have been able to read reports about the president and the board of directors wasting money by spending it on unnecessary things or for personal use, like private jets and so on. How have you experienced all that from the inside?
It's not like that at all. On the contrary. Since 2003, that is when we took office, we have started working on multiplying the revenues. This year, we will have a turn-over of 400 millions. From 2003 until the end of 2007, I have myself been the treasurer of the club and I can tell you that as far as the expenses are concerned, we have acted in a very strict way.

Let's talk about a concrete name: Mister Joan Oliver. If you win, will you count on him?
I don't think that anyone is indispensable. Everyone knows what happened with private investigations and the lack of confidence is perhaps a problem. The president of Barça should have full confidence in his chief executive. But in any case these decisions will be made later on.

The members of Barça are fed up with the slander and the campaigns coming from the press of Madrid. There is something that can be done against it? If you will be president, will you try to stop all this?
For those who are annoyed by this, the solution should be not to read the press that says these things, but all this is a consequence of the fact our team is playing in a spectacular way and has been the first team in history to win six titles in one year. This is very frustrating for the big rival and their supporters. We don't have to worry, I want our team to continue to perform well, to win games and titles, and we should ignore the rest.

One has the impression that you have had to resist and to deal with a lot of injustices in the board. Mister Benedito saw something he did not like and he left, while you are still holding on. What is more honourable in this case: to resist or to leave?
All these are personal decisions that everyone has to make for himself. I can explain you what I think. I prefer to be in the club, because of the responsibility that was given to me by the members and the fans, to have an influence on the decisions that are taken in the board and to make sure they are the best ones for the club. And this does not mean that I will resign if a decision is adopted that I don't like. Inside the board we don't all think alike and there is a debate. The easy thing for me to do in recent years would have been to leave and I would certainly have got a lot more support from everyone. But what interests me is to protect the club, to manage the club and to influence as much as possible all those decisions that I think are crucial for the club, and this is what I will do until the end.

this was the first part of this interview. you can read the second part here and the third part here.

Read more:
Ferrer: "The president should give the example"
Who are the people behind Jaume Ferrer?
Ferrer doesn't want Laporta to campaign

interview: uri bruguera