Police uncover evidence of former Barcelona chief running paid PR campaign to attack Pep Guardiola and other rivals as details emerge: Reports

Police have uncovered crucial evidence against former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu in the infamous Barcagate scandal, according to EL Pais via GOAL. Bartomeu was reportedly arrested in March 2021 before being released conditionally.

The Catalan police have now confirmed the ex-president's involvement in a smear campaign during his reign, involving a company called Nicestream. According to the report, Bartomeu was aware of the social media campaign, and actively monitored the process as well.

The police have uncovered WhatsApp messages which apparently show that Bartomeu used to receive regular updates about Nicestream's activity from his advisor Jaume Masferrer. Nicestream ran social media campaigns against Bartomeu's rivals Joan Laporta and Victor Font, as well as Pep Guardiola, who reportedly shared a close bond with Laporta.

Nicestream apparently deployed 226 fake accounts to damage the image of Bartomeu's rivals on social media. The former Barcelona president has denied any wrongdoing so far, although recent evidence suggest otherwise.

Guardiola was in charge of the Catalans for four seasons from 2008 to 2012, largely remembered as one of the golden periods of the club's history. The La Liga champions won 14 trophies during his tenure, including the historic treble in 2008/09 campaign.

Guardiola left the club two years before Bartomeu took charge at Barcelona. The Spanish manager took over at Bayern Munich in 2013, before moving to Manchester City in 2016.

Were Barcelona in talks to sign Luis Diaz this summer?

Bayern Munich forward Luis Diaz has confirmed that he was in talks with Barcelona regarding a move this summer. The Catalans were looking for a new left-forward this year and had the former Liverpool man on their radar.

However, the move never materialized and Diaz left Anfield to move to the Allianz Arena instead. The 28-year-old has enjoyed a decent start to life with the Bavarians, scoring four goals and setting up two more from six games across competitions.

Speaking recently, as cited by Barca Universal, Diaz insisted that he is happy with the Bundesliga champions.

“I’m very happy to be at this great club. There were talks (with Barça), as is the market, with several teams. I’m very comfortable with this decision. I made an objective decision for my future, and the important thing is that I’m joining a great club. So, I’ll just try to give my all,” said Diaz.

Barcelona, meanwhile, signed Marcus Rashford on loan from Manchester United instead.

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Edited by Deepungsu Pandit