There isn't a single quiet day at FC Barcelona. 24 hours after achieving the long-awaited registrations of Olmo and Pau Víctor via CSD and defeating Athletic Club, a new director has submitted his resignation. We are talking about Juli Guiu, vice president of marketing since March 2021. His importance had been declining within the board in recent months, following the agreement with Nike.
After the news broke, the Barça team quickly issued a brief statement. "FC Barcelona announces that Juli Guiu has submitted his irrevocable resignation as vice president of the Marketing Area due to professional reasons. The Club wants to thank Juli Guiu for his services and dedication to the institution since his incorporation into the Board of Directors in 2021. Ther, he has been a key figure in the agreements with FC Barcelona's major partners in recent years."
Everything happened in the last few hours, despite being a resignation expected by Laporta. During his stay in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, Juli Guiu called the president, explaining the reasons for his resignation. Although "professional reasons" are quoted, the reality is different: He is upset with the president and has stopped feeling important within the board of directors.
Juli Guiu: the Reasons for His Resignation at Barça
Madrid-Barcelona has learned that, despite the "professional reasons" publicly stated, the real reason is very different. Juli Guiu was already annoyed that Darren Dein entered as a broker in the sponsorship contract with Spotify, negotiated by him years ago. However, he's more upset about everything that happened with Nike.
Juli Guiu has felt sidelined in negotiations he had been leading for a long time. In fact, it was noticeable at the Special Meeting to ratify the contract with Nike, where he didn't even speak. His relationship with Joan Laporta had been growing in recent months due to recent events, where he had been internally removed from his duties.
He wasn't pleased at all that Darren Dein got fully involved in the negotiations with Nike, taking a commission exceeding 50 million euros when his presence was more than avoidable.
There are Now More Than 20 Resignations at Barça under Joan Laporta
Juli Guiu is just another name on the list of executives who have resigned with Laporta as president. Many important officials have decided to leave the entity, publicly on good terms, due to how difficult it is to work with the Barça president. He wishes to maintain power above all and doesn't let his executives work, as proven by CEO Ferran Reverter with his departure in 2022.
With Joan Laporta on the top, the talent exodus hasn't stopped, even before his term began. The person who was going to be his strong man in the economic sector, Jaume Giró, left six days after the elections. In 2022, Jaume Guardiola, a member of the Economic Committe, also resigned, followed by Jaume Llauradó later.
These are just some names from a long list of executives who have left Barça with Joan Laporta as presdient. Hedoesn't make it easy at all, as shown by the recent resignation of Juli Guiu.