Rosell steps down as Barcelona president

Sandro Rosell stepped down from his role as Barcelona president on Thursday amid the ongoing row surrounding the club’s signing of Neymar.

Josep Maria Bartomeu will replace Rosell for the remainder of his term in charge – which runs until 2016.

Reports in the Spanish media have claimed legal proceedings were to begin against Rosell regarding the deal to bring the Brazilian attacker to Camp Nou from Santos in the close-season.

The estimated €57million deal has come under scrutiny following allegations of a misappropriation of funds, while Spanish newspaper El Mundo Deportivo reported on Monday to have seen documents showing the deal was worth nearer €95m.

Rosell quickly refuted those rumours and said he would be happy to testify in court but, after a special meeting of the board of directors was called to discuss the matter on Thursday, the situation appears to have come to a head, with Rosell confirming a departure from his presidential role.

He bemoaned “attacks” upon him and his family in a press conference, which was delayed by almost an hour and a half.

Rosell said: “Me and my family for some time have suffered attacks that make me wonder if it’s worth being president.

“In recent days there have been unfair criticisms against me, coming from the national courts.

“I insist that everything that happened in the transfer of Neymar was correct.

“The club has always got to have an image that defends the club, there is confidentiality we have to expect, it’s important.

“If we don’t accept confidentiality it is damaging to the club. We don’t want unfair publicity to affect the image of the club.”

Rosell expressed great pride at the achievements at the club during his spell at the helm, particularly their three UEFA Champions League triumphs in 2006, 2009 and 2011.

He continued: “We’ve won the Champions League, two league titles, the other sports teams have also won a number of different trophies at home and abroad to show our power as a worldwide entity.

“If you think back to Ronaldinho’s goal in Paris, Messi’s goals, what happened in Rome, in London.

“We’ve reduced the debt and regained assets.

“We have the pride of knowing some of the best players in the world play for Barca.”