Koeman devastated by arrests of Barcelona Officials

(FASTNEWS | COLOMBO) –   Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman says he is “devastated” at the arrest of former president Josep Maria Bartomeu following an investigation into the club’s financial issues.

Bartomeu was one of four arrests in what police called “an investigation into alleged crimes related to property and the socio-economic order”.

Bartomeu, who resigned as president in October, was released on Tuesday.

“It’s not good for the image of the club,” said Koeman.

The arrests were made by Catalan police on Monday after an investigation into financial issues at the 26-time Spanish champions.

Bartomeu and his former adviser Jaume Masferrer spent the night in a Barcelona police station, while the club’s chief executive Oscar Grau and legal services director Roman Gomez Ponti were detained and released later in the day.

The investigation is thought to relate to the ‘Barcagate’ scandal in 2020, when the club denied hiring a firm to attack their own players on social media.