Josep Maria Bartomeu

Also known as: Bartomeu

Jurisdiction: Spain

FC Barcelona president 2014–2020. Two separate proceedings touch him and are correctly not merged: investigado in the Negreira matter, and arrested in the Barçagate (I3 Ventures) inquiry.

Roles

  • Vice-president then president, FC Barcelona — from 2014 to 2020

Legal and procedural status

Legal status: Investigado · Spain

Investigado in the Negreira proceedings. A distinct matter from the Barçagate inquiry below; the two are never merged.

Legal status: Investigated · Spain · 2021-03-01

Arrested/detained on 1 March 2021 in the Barçagate (I3 Ventures) inquiry. Arrest is not a charge or conviction; presumed innocent. A separate proceeding from the Negreira matter.

Timeline appearances

  1. 2014-01-23Barcelona business & personal taxClassification: Confirmed fact
    Sandro Rosell resigns as FC Barcelona president after judge opens investigation into Neymar transfer

    Role at the time: Vice-president then president, FC Barcelona from 2014 to 2020

  2. 2016-06-13Barcelona business & personal taxClassification: Confirmed fact
    FC Barcelona board approves settlement paying €5.5 million fine to close Neymar-transfer tax case

    Role at the time: Vice-president then president, FC Barcelona from 2014 to 2020

  3. 2021-03-01Barcelona business & personal taxClassification: Confirmed fact
    Catalan police search FC Barcelona offices and detain former president Bartomeu and executives in "Barçagate" (I3 Ventures) inquiry
  4. 2023-03-10Negreira & refereeingClassification: Confirmed fact
    Prosecutors file complaint over Negreira payments

Claims

Sources

Independent sources:
3
Total references:
3

Established wire or investigative reporting

Cadena SER (Què T'hi Jugues / El Larguero) — the I3 Ventures reporting

Cadena SER · 2020-02-17

Not foundLanguage: esIndependent source

Supports

  • b7398028-aef8-5d72-8392-4281d3ebf5b2
  • 4798955c-12ce-52e3-9e4c-8408918c8b15

The single origin of the smear-campaign characterization, based on leaked documents obtained by Cadena SER. No URL captured in the research record; access state not established.

Retrieved 2026-07-17

Prosecutor or government record

Fiscalía denuncia — corrupción entre particulares en el ámbito deportivo, administración desleal, falsedad en documento mercantil

Fiscalía Provincial de Barcelona / Fiscalía Anticorrupción · 2023-03-10

InaccessibleLanguage: esIndependent source

Supports

  • bde1281d-7f9b-5953-b731-f98fdff9ef78
  • f7f25bbc-7278-57c1-bf2e-a0631fd9c714
  • cac2841e-a749-5d8a-87e7-8178efea8782

Not indexed/online; only fragments reproduced by El País, Libertad Digital and Maldita.es. The full querella text was never retrieved.

Retrieved 2026-07-17

Secondary reporting

Barçagate: the case that led to the arrest of former Barcelona president Bartomeu

Football España · 2021-03-01

RetrievedLanguage: enIndependent source

Supports

  • b7398028-aef8-5d72-8392-4281d3ebf5b2
  • 4798955c-12ce-52e3-9e4c-8408918c8b15

Explicit limitations

  • Final judicial disposition of the I3 Ventures case.
  • Full querella text not retrieved.