According to a report added by Mossos d’Esquadra about the so-called barrier gate incident, certain journalists are said to have received payments from FC Barcelona under the direction of the club’s former president, Josep Maria Bartomeu. The document indicates that Bartomeu’s associates aimed to influence the media by directing contracts to specific journalists, with the intention of shaping the digital reputation of FC Barcelona through indirect funds. The report notes that the arrangements purportedly included direct involvement by Bartomeu to ensure these payments were formalized through intermediary channels. EL PERIÓDICO, a publication from the Prensa Ibérica group, had access to these materials. In the narrative, there is a stated, direct interest in controlling how information about the club circulates online, including through arrangements with the Nicestream Group and other media entities. Those within Bartomeu’s circle deny any compensation to journalists regarding these matters.
The Mossos d’Esquadra assert that the report contains allegations of falsified invoices used to channel funds to journalists selected with Bartomeu’s guidance. The police maintain that third-party firms were instructed to issue payments to journalists as part of these arrangements on multiple occasions.
Investigators point to Amalgama Marketing, a firm associated with Miquel Sambola, and note that in 2015 he worked with his brother Óscar Sambola and their father Miquel Sambola Puebla on Bartomeu’s campaign. The same company allegedly held a contract with FC Barcelona during Bartomeu’s tenure. Óscar Sambola and Miquel Sambola Puebla were listed as directors and honorary presidents of related associations. The club Esportiu Laieta was also mentioned in relation to a 1.5 million euro payment connected to pre-demolition planning for the Miniestadi area, described as compensation for potential disturbances. Details indicate that no other parties were compensated in that instance.
Attacks on Laporta and Font
The Mossos d’Esquadra suggest that journalists Marçal Lorente and Albert Lesan may have participated in processing portions of their invoices through Amalgama, following Bartomeu’s recommendations. Police records allegedly show that some invoices were altered to justify the payments. A separate entity named Tormenta de Acero is cited as being run by José Marín Pasquín Comalrena de Sobregrau. Additionally, SMC Talent at Motios is mentioned as having received instructions from Bartomeu to facilitate payments or to draft self-declared invoices. In a social media post, Lesan asserted that he did not receive even a single euro from Barça, noting that an advertising contract of 2,000 euros per month existed to cover stores and program promotions.
To complete the account, the police cite conversations recovered from the electronic devices of those investigated in the so-called Barçagate case. In these exchanges, journalists are alleged to have acknowledged supporting Bartomeu’s interests and opposing rivals such as Joan Laporta, the current president at the time of the report, and Víctor Font, a candidate in the most recent election, according to Mossos.
Within those communications, Lorente and Lesan are named alongside former Barça president Bartomeu and his close adviser Jaume Masferrer as individuals facing court scrutiny for possible misconduct and alleged corruption in the handling of individual interests related to Barçagate. The documents describe a system in which payments were designed by the ex-president to divert funds to reporters, with transfers routed through intermediary companies. Bartomeu is said to have given precise instructions on the intended invoice descriptions, accompanied by transfers that reflected those concepts.
Fictional Concepts
In one exchange between Marçal Lorente and Bartomeu, a payment request from the company responsible for a project is reportedly accompanied by a suggested invoice description that shielded the true nature of the service provided. The ex-president is described as guiding the modification of the invoice concept to obscure a training period framed as business communication. The report notes that some invoice concepts were fictitious, and in certain instances the company named to issue the invoice did not exist at the time the invoiced services were said to have been performed. The arrangements are described as payments made by FC Barcelona through third-party firms before they were eventually transferred to the club itself.
The implications presented in the document emphasize an attempt to obscure the origin and purpose of payments, with a focus on how these funds were funneled through intermediaries to media figures who, in certain cases, aligned with Bartomeu’s strategic aims.