Barça spokesman: "Rousaud isn't telling the truth"

The spokesperson for FC Barcelona board of directors, Josep Vives, has hit back at former member Emili Rousand and called his claims of corruption were "false".

"Mr Rousand isn't telling the truth. He's formulated an accusation that is radically false. There's no conduct which can be considered corrupt in the management of Barça. To form this accusation you naturally require proof and there isn't any," he told Cadena SER.

Vives added that Rousand acted in an incoherent way if he believed the accusation. "When we talk about corruption, we're talking about putting your hand in the til, as he said. No one has done that from the board or at Barça."

"Yet in any case, if someone has such an important role like Mr Rousand had up until now.. and he believed what he is accusing, I believe he should have made it known straight away and stepped down from his role. It's a pretty serious inconsistency."

Vive claimed the changes were part of the remodelling of the board of directors. "There were some disagreements but in the next few days you'll see the board of directors at Barça until June 2021."

As for another accusation from Rousand about the investigation surrounding the PR company contracted by the club, Vives claimed no conclusion can be reached until the investigation was concluded. "Speculating at this point only damages the investigation. When it's finished, there will be a clear image of what happened here and then we will be able to answer a lot of questions."