Salvat: "The member will know everything"

Barcelona presidential candidate Santiago Salvat gave an interview to Catalan online paper El Singular Digital.


More and more people seem to claim the label of "alternative candidate"...
We are the only truly new candidacy. All other projects have already been linked to electoral processes or to the board of directors. They already had their moment, now it's our turn, we have a new team, enthusiasm, with people who are prepared and who bring renewal to the club.

But people like Josep Maria Minguella Josep and Jordi Medina are part of your project. Both have already tried before to become the president of Barça...
They have tried it, they realize that everything has stayed the same and this time they want to offer their experience to a young and new project and therefore, they have set a step back. People do not see me as the candidate of Minguella and he has already begun working for us.

As far as the sports area is concerend, Barça is going through one of the best moments of its history. It seems strange to talk about change...
The sporting successes are not the responsibility of the president or the board, but of the professionals who have made this possible. We are the alternative regarding the institutional representation and have a way of doing things based on transparency. One of our slogans is: "The member will know everything".

But Guardiola was appointed by the board of Laporta, no?
That is a lie. Laporta did not want Guardiola. He refused the option en Marc Ingla then went to see Mourinho and when he said no, they decided to count on Guardiola. This was their last card left and they thought that if the results wouldn't be good, the member would not act, because Pep is a club icon.

However, the titles will be one of the main arguments put on the table by the continuity candidate to convince the member.
If we reach the presidency and Barça wins a Champions League, I do not want people to say that Santiago Salvat has won a Champions League. It will have been the players and the coaches who have done it. We want to give all the facilities to the coaches. I think I will have a good relationship with Guardiola and Xavi Pascual [coach of the basketball team].

There has been talk of a "center" candidacy. That's a vague concept...
The third way, our way, is a way between two extremes. The continuism and Sandro Rosell, who we call "pseudo-continuism".

Then there are those who point at a big pact of all candidates against Rosell...
All candidates against Rosell will be impossible because we won't be part of that. We won't go against anyone, the others are already doing that. Laporta, Rosell Ferrer or Ingla are already talking about a dirty campaign and we will not get involved in that fight. I'm sure there will be pacts and the ones who could most benefit from this are Ingla and Ferrer.

In the case we really end up with those two blocks, your chances of becoming the president would get complicated?
No, quite the opposite. The positions of each one would get more extreme, they would become more radical and it would become clear they want to get in power no matter what. A pact with us would be impossible because we would force them to accept a series of criteria related to transparency that they would not accept because they have a past at the club.

this was the first part of this interview. you will be able to read the second part in the coming days.

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