Barcelona CEO resigns just days after club seals £250million Spotify deal

Ferran Reverter has resigned from his post as Barcelona CEO, just days after the club agreed a multi-million pound sponsorship deal with Spotify.

The 49-year-old had only taken over at the club last summer, but will leave his post as soon as a replacement CEO has been appointed.

Barca's three-year deal with Spotify is said to be worth £250million, and will see the company replace Rakuten on the front of the team's shirts as well as reportedly becoming the first brand to sponsor the club's Camp Nou stadium.

However, as the club prepare to make an official announcement over the deal, they have lost one of the men involved in negotiations, with reports on the continent suggesting the Spotify deal may have been a factor.

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"It is now almost a year since I left Germany to return to Barcelona for family reasons and shortly after I accepted the offer that I received from president Joan Laporta to become CEO of the club," Reverter said in a statement.

"These have been passionate months and I thank the president for his trust and, above all, his enthusiasm and capacity for leadership that mean FC Barcelona now has a first class executive team that is able to reposition Barça as a world leader.

"Personally I have put in much effort and dedication during these months, but I now wish to focus on the reason why I returned to Barcelona, which is to spend more time on personal and family projects."

However, according to La Vanguardia, "The discrepancies in the choice of the new sponsor would be one of the triggers for Reverter's resignation, but not the only one.

"The general director already had disagreements with the president before," the publication notes.

Barca themselves made no mention of the sponsorship deal in their statement regarding Reverter's decision, though it is claimed he was thought to be unhappy with the terms of the agreement.

"Given the decision by the CEO, the president and his Board of Directors wish to publicly express their gratitude to Ferran Reverter for his commitment and good work as head of the FC Barcelona executive during this time," the club said.

Barcelona thanked Reverter for his work in a number of areas, including helping the club reduce its payroll.

A number of high earners have moved on since the summer in efforts to trim the wage bill, with Antoine Griezmann and Miralem Pjanic among those to leave on loan over the summer and Philippe Coutinho following suit in January.

The financial issues played a part in Barcelona's inability to keep Lionel Messi at the club, with the Argentine moving to Paris Saint-Germain in August, but they have since been able to make new additions to the squad.