Opposition figure offered place in candidacy

Catalan sports weekly paper Gol claims that former Barcelona assistant-director Lluís de Val (picture) has been offered to take part in the upcoming elections for president of FC Barcelona as member of a candidacy.

Lluís de Val is a 56-year old Catalan businessman from the audiovisual sector who was part of the candidacy of Joan Castells in the 2000 elections. Castells joined the candidacy of then Barcelona vice-president Joan Gaspart and was appointed as vice-president after Gaspart was elected as president.

As part of the deal between Castells and Gaspart, several people linked to Castells got a position in the club, among which Lluís de Val, who became a member of a large board of advisors and was some kind of assistant-director until he left the club together with Castells in December of 2002 (read more here).

After his exit of the club, De Val has been active in the entourage of the club, at certain moments acting as a voice of the opposition. In 2003, a few months after he left Barcelona, he tried to organize a vote of no confidence against president Joan Gaspart.

In October of 2005, he revealed that director Alejandro Echevarría, then the brother-in-law of Barcelona presidente Laporta, was a member of a foundation in honour of former Spanish dictator Franco, which led to the resignation of Echevarría (read more here).

And earlier this month of February, De Val accused the current board of having bought in 2008 a piece of land in the Catalan city of Viladecans, close to Barcelona, for a value that was far more than the market value.

Read more:
Former vice-president Castells considering to run
Llaurado confirms that he will run
Former brother-in-law Laporta reappearing on stage