World Sports: Barcelona’s former vice-chairman denies approving illegal commissions and says the signature on the contract was not signed by him

According to Mundo Deportivo, former Barcelona vice-chairman Jordi Meester denied approving illegal commissions and stated that the signature on the contract was not signed by him.

According to judicial sources, Barcelona’s former vice-president Jordi Meester denied in front of a judge on Friday that he had authorized the intermediary commission for the introduction of player Malcom in 2018, and stated that the signature on the contract was not his own. According to prosecutors, the payments were made without the club's knowledge.

Mestre and former general manager Ignasi Mestre testified as defendants before the Barcelona judge investigating the case. The case stems from the prosecutor's accusation that Bartomeu illegally transferred 4 million euros in commissions and intermediary fees during his tenure.

This accusation stems from a "legal" report submitted to the prosecutor's office by current board chairman Laporta in 2022, which detailed various accounting irregularities related to player transfers.

Specifically, the prosecutor's office accused Jordi-Meester, along with other club executives, of allowing commissions for Malcom's transfer to be paid to intermediaries who were not employed by the club. Mester claimed that the signature that appeared on the contract was added via a scan and was not signed by him. He also said that after learning that he was involved in the commission payment, he requested an explanation from the club by registered mail.

Mestre's defense lawyer Andres Maruenda pointed out that neither the Barcelona club nor the prosecutor's office provided registered letter evidence that could prove his client's innocence.

In addition, the prosecutor's office also mentioned that Barcelona signed a contract with Business Fútbol España on July 1, 2018, entrusting it with intermediary work for Malcom's transfer. Later, the company billed Barcelona for 8.4 million euros after officially signing the contract on July 24, 2018. At the same time, Malcom also signed an intermediary agreement with another company, Elenko Sports LTA, on the same day, and Barcelona paid the company 855,600 euros as intermediary fees in April 2019.

For the transfer of Malcom, Barcelona paid 41 million euros to Girondin Bordeaux. The prosecutor's office believes that Bartomeu at least conspired with legal affairs director Romain Gomez-Ponti, Jordi Meester and then general manager Oscar Grau: "agreed to pay a certain amount of intermediary fees to intermediaries who were not employed by the club."

On the other hand, former general manager Ignasi Mestre was also questioned over the nearly 2 million euros Barcelona paid to lawyer Jose Angel Gonzalez Franco. The payment was made in gratitude for his role in reaching an agreement between Barcelona, ​​the Public Prosecutor's Office and the National Bar Association on the Neymar transfer case.

According to the agreement, Barcelona admitted two crimes against public finances and agreed to pay a fine of 5.5 million euros. However, the prosecutor's office said the payments were made without the lawyers' involvement in the final agreement. Mestre argued that the club had a verbal agreement with Franco to compensate him for his role in the Neymar case.