Bartomeu also touched upon the controversial Negreira case and his lack of a relationship with his successor, Laporta. Despite the friction at the top level of the club, he offered praise for the coaching appointment of Hansi Flick, while remaining critical of other aspects of the current administration, including the decision to hire a Turkish firm for the Spotify Camp Nou renovations.
"I'll have no relationship with him [Laporta] whatsoever. The last time we met was during the 2015 elections, which I won, and he didn’t even come to congratulate me," Bartomeu revealed.
"The best thing that’s been done in recent years is signing Flick and building a team that’s also part of the legacy, because of this current squad of 23 players, 10 or 11 come from our time. Flick has done a great job and is a very good choice by Laporta, but everything else didn’t quite sit right with me."
Regarding the refereeing scandal, he noted: “Each of us has defended our period in the Negreira case. In my case, I’m under investigation until 2018, when we decided to terminate Javier Enriquez’s contract. I was the only one who asked the judge not to hand over Barca’s documentation to Real Madrid, which they requested a few months ago. I didn’t think it was fair for Real Madrid to see the club’s most internal documents. The issue of referee reports is something many clubs have done, not just Barca."