Vilajoana: 'Barça is the most indebted club in football history' — presidential hopeful pulls no punches
Xavier Vilajoana makes his case for the Barça presidency, warning of financial ruin and refusing to use Messi as an electoral weapon.
Xavier Vilajoana is putting himself forward as a candidate for the FC Barcelona presidency, and he’s not exactly coming in quietly. The businessman and former Barça director gave a wide-ranging interview this week — right in the middle of the signature validation period running 3–6 March — and he had plenty to say.
Why he’s running
Vilajoana’s pitch is pretty straightforward: he reckons the club is in genuine danger, and he feels a sense of responsibility to do something about it. He’s been listening to members for months, he says, and what he’s hearing isn’t pretty. His motivation, in his own words, is passion and a sense of duty — but also a clear-eyed read of how serious things have got.
He’s also adamant that whoever takes the hot seat won’t have the luxury of a honeymoon period. There are no 100 days of grace here — decisions will need to be made from day one.
The financial picture
This is where Vilajoana really lets rip. His numbers, if accurate, are genuinely alarming:
- He claims Barça are the most indebted club in the history of football
- The current board has, in his view, lost nearly €300 million in four years
- The club is managing close to €1 billion in turnover — not something you can run on vibes and a strong brand image alone
His warning is blunt: no matter how well the football goes, if the structural financial problems aren’t fixed, there’s a massive reckoning on the way. The ball going in the net won’t save you if the books are a disaster.
On Messi — keeping it classy
One of the more interesting moments came when he was asked about using Lionel Messi as an electoral selling point. Vilajoana wasn’t having any of it. He made clear that Messi will always have the doors of the club open regardless of who’s president — and that turning him into a campaign tool would be a mistake. Refreshing, honestly, given how often candidates in these elections love dangling the Messi card.
Deco and the sporting structure
He also pushed back on the idea that a sporting director like Deco would be tied to any particular president. For Vilajoana, everyone at the club — from the boardroom to the dugout — serves the institution, not the individual in charge. Sensible take, even if it’s easier said than done in practice.
His vision in a nutshell
- A Barça for everyone, not just the VIPs — his words, aimed squarely at the membership base
- On infrastructure like the new Palau, he wants to bring in specialist partners and invest zero euros of the club’s own money, using a concession model instead
- He’s keen to keep the non-football sections competitive without piling on more debt
The bottom line
Vilajoana comes across as someone who knows the club inside out and isn’t interested in the glamour of the job — more the graft of it. Whether that’s enough to get him over the line is another matter entirely. But with Barça’s finances in the state they’re apparently in, having someone who actually understands the numbers might not be the worst shout.
As he put it himself: he doesn’t start a match without believing he can win it. The race is on.