According to reports, Barcelona sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta offered to resign from his position with the club in the wake of FIFA announcing a one-year transfer ban against the club.
Andoni Zubizarreta reportedly offered to be the fall guy for Barcelona
Barcelona’s sporting director reportedly offered to resign in the wake of FIFA’s transfer ban, but the story may not be that simple.
Miquel Benitez
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A rumor circulated on Catalan radio that Zubizarreta made the offer after at a meeting held just hours after the transfer ban was made public last week. The sporting director was asked about the report on Canal Plus following Barca's win over Real Betis on Saturday and offered a different explanation for what happened.
“There was a rumour around Barcelona about my resignation, but I have not resigned and am not going to resign,” he said. “I feel fully backed by the president and the board. In this moment when there are problems and difficulties my way of understanding life tells me I should be here with this club, which has given me so much. I will be working to clean the image of this club.”
Normally this would be the end of the story, but considering what a PR mess this entire situation as been for Barcelona, it was inevitable there would be another twist.
Enter club president Josep Maria Bartomeu, who told Catalunya Radio that Zubizarreta did offer to resign.
“Andoni is a man of the club and has done sensational work. Last Wednesday afternoon, after learning of the FIFA punishment, we met to see how to approach the matter. Zubizarreta said if he was the problem, he would go. I appreciate his words, but he is not responsible for this.”
For the moment, Zubizarreta remains with the club and it doesn’t appear that will change any time soon. Instead, it’s another confusing layer to what is already a confusing and rather embarrassing situation for Barcelona.
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