Sandro Rosell

Rosell and Joan Laporta joined forces in 2003 to support the latter's bid to become president of FC Barcelona. After winning by a large majority, Rosell attempted to make the election pledge of bringing David Beckham to the club a reality. At the time, Rosell claimed he was "80% confident" that the move would take place.[5] Beckham, however, chose to join Barcelona's fierce rivals, Real Madrid.[6] As a result, the Barcelona board opted to try and sign Brazilian star Ronaldinho from Paris Saint-Germain. The Catalan club were in direct competition for the Brazilian with Manchester United, who wanted him as a replacement for the England international. At a time of financial uncertainty, the capture of Ronaldinho was crucial for Barcelona. It is widely believed that Ronaldinho signed for Barcelona instead of the Premier League Champions because of his friendship with Rosell, a former Nike executive in Brazil.[7]

Rosell resigned as vice-president of sports in June 2005, despite Barcelona winning the title that year, accusing Laporta of failing to carry their combined original plan for the club.[8]

In 2006, Rosell released a book Benvingut al món real (Welcome to the real world), just as Barcelona were on the verge of reaching the UEFA Champions League final, which they eventually won. It was seen as a direct attack on club president Laporta after it promised to reveal the problems that had caused Rosell to resign.[9]

When the opportunity for elections at FC Barcelona arose in 2006, due to a successful challenge by club members who claimed Joan Laporta had completed a four-year term, Rosell did not put his name forward to challenge his former friend. When asked if he would put his name forward in future elections, Rosell replied that he would "never say never".[10]

After his resignation, Rosell was a critic of Laporta, criticizing his handling of problems at Barcelona and claiming that in "all areas of the club" there has been "absolute anarchy".[11] However, he did support Laporta's choice of manager in Pep Guardiola, saying that it was "how it should be"[11] and also supported Laporta's decision to sign an agreement with UNICEF.

Rosell announced on 27 June 2008, at a press conference, that he intended to campaign for the presidency of FC Barcelona in 2010 after the end of the contract of Joan Laporta. At the time, Laporta was about to face a no-confidence motion brought about by Oriol Giralt which Rosell supported. Laporta himself accused Rosell of being behind the motion.[12] When asked why he would be voting against Laporta, Rosell said that it was because the current management "is not independent or transparent or democratic".[13] On 13 June, Rosell was elected president of FC Barcelona with more than 60% of the vote of club members.[14] He replaced outgoing President Joan Laporta on 1 July 2010.

In July 2012, Rosell confirmed that his club Barcelona had achieved record profits of €45 million for the previous season despite his side winning neither the Liga title nor the Champions League.[15] On 23 January 2014, Rosell resigned as president after judge Pablo Ruz ordered the start of a hearing to investigate Rosell for alleged misappropriation of funds over the signing of Brazil forward Neymar, saying Rosell could be called in person to give evidence.[16] In 2017, Rosell was jailed without bail after being accused of misappropriation of funds from the €57m signing of Neymar.[2]

• La Liga (2):
  • 2010–11, 2012–13
• Copa del Rey (1):
  • 2011–12
• Supercopa de España (3):
  • 2010, 2011, 2013
• UEFA Champions League (1):
  • 2010–11
• UEFA Super Cup: (1)
  • 2011
• FIFA Club World Cup: (1)
  • 2011