A Mossos d’Esquadra report cited in Barcelona’s Cadena SER summary of Barçagate reveals that journalists were paid during Josep Maria Bartomeu’s presidency. Funds were routed through external firms and via fictitious categories, according to the program aired by the station. The report indicates that some reporters received payments on Bartomeu’s behalf.
EFE notes that the Mossos document attached to the case summary states that certain journalists were compensated directly by the club under Bartomeu’s orders, and that Bartomeu himself supervised contracts with these individuals. The police report also claims the use of forged invoices to divert funds to journalists chosen by Bartomeu. The analysis points to Amalgam Marketing, a firm led by Miquel Sambola who worked on Bartomeu’s 2015 campaign for election.
Now, based on Barcelona’s Cadena SER, a Mossos report appended to the Barçagate summary states that the club led by Bartomeu paid journalists through third party entities and through draft arrangements. EFE reports that conversations found on the devices of those investigated show journalists acknowledging alignment with Bartomeu’s interests and criticisms of rivals such as Joan Laporta and Víctor Font. The Mossos describe indirect payments made by the club through intermediary companies to bolster Bartomeu’s digital image and to counter opponents, as explained by the agency.
This was Barça under Bartomeu’s media relationships
In February 2002, GOAL detailed the media relationships that developed under Bartomeu at FC Barcelona. Agreements were signed with Catalan media across radio, print, and television. The media relations never fully matched Barça’s expectations, especially during periods when communications managers were controversial among journalists, even as financial and exchange contracts with Catalan media continued.
GOAL, through Adrià Soldevila, described a framework of deals with radio, television, and digital outlets. Major radio networks were involved. Stations such as RAC1, Cadena SER, Onda Cero, and Cadena COPE engaged in advertising exchanges with Barça, with values ranging roughly from tens to low hundreds of thousands of euros. The exchanges often included tickets to matches, stadium tours, or jerseys for raffles. For Cadena SER, the exchange was valued around 42,600 euros, with Onda Cero near 42,000 and COPE around 22,500, while RAC1’s involvement carried a higher tally due to its larger audience reach. The arrangement involved no direct payments to stations; instead, the clubs highlighted Barça products and services in exchange for promotional placements.
There is a notable exception on radio: Radio Channel Barcelona, a local outlet without official ratings. Barça did not sign a contract with the station itself; instead, the arrangement covered journalist Marçal Lorente, director of the program Without Concessions. A clause stated that the contract would remain valid even if the program moved to a different channel or schedule. The initial six year term ran from September 2015 to June 2021, with a yearly advertising commitment of 50,000 euros. In July 2020, with one year remaining, the term extended to June 2022 at a raised 70,000 euros per year. In June 2021, under Joan Laporta’s leadership, the contract ended.
Relations with print media
Regarding print outlets, Barça maintained agreements with Mundo Deportivo, Sport, La Vanguardia, and El Periódico. Annual payments typically ranged from 50,000 to 175,000 euros. Sports newspapers often topped spending due to their large readership among fans, while general papers occupied lower positions. The ARA newspaper also had an advertising exchange with Barça at one time, though that arrangement has since expired.
Relations with digital outlets
Several digital media entities also engaged in financial cooperation with Barça. The Crónica Global Media group appeared in a contract starting in 2018, renewed in mid-2020, and set to expire in June 2022. This agreement included two lines: an advertising grant worth 25,000 euros with the sports outlet Culemania, and an annual advertising fee of 35,000 euros to Crónica Global Media, with the first season (2018-19) priced at 45,000 euros. Other digital outlets, El Triangle and Diario Gol, also hosted Barcelona campaigns during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons for distributing promotional messages. Those contracts ended in late 2018.
Relations with television media
The Catalan public media group CCMA, which runs TV3 and Catalunya Radio, had its ad exchange agreement with Barça canceled in 2017 after scrutiny related to the Seient Lliure incident during a Camp Nou broadcast and ensuing tensions that led to the club severing ties with the network, according to executive sources from Bartomeu’s era. The only television program with a continuing Barça deal was Rondeando, hosted by Albert Lesán on 8TV, a private channel owned by the Godó Group. The two year contract (2020-21 and 2021-22) valued at 20,000 euros per year was signed with the production company Free Numbers, which produced the program during 2020-21 for Teve.cat. When the station and program name changed, the contract remained active.
Recent audiovisual projects
In recent years, Barça has commissioned a variety of audiovisual productions from notable studios. Projects include productions with Participated Productions El Barrio by Jordi Évole for a documentary about the club’s first team and a Rakuten TV release, as well as work with Absolute Minority on two historical documentaries, one about former president Josep Sunol and another about the life of Ana Maria Martinez Sagi, Barça’s first female director. A third project involved Triacomin tied to the Espai Barça initiative led by journalist and writer Xavier Bosch.