Interview: Presidential pre-candidate Xavier Vilajoana – Kane is an idea, Barcelona lack professionals

Barcelona presidential hopeful Xavier Vilajoana used the launch of his campaign to warn that the next president “will not have the 100 days of grace we grant political mandates” and vowed to make instant decisions to steady a club he believes has lost its way.

Running under the banner “Ready to recover our Barcelona”, Vilajoana, 53, spent five years on the club’s board between 2015 and 2020, overseeing La Masia and Barça Femení after earlier careers as both an 11-a-side and futsal player. Speaking exclusively to Football España, he said the combination of member disillusionment and a shortage of in-house expertise had convinced him to stand.

“Members feel they are treated like clients, not owners,” Vilajoana said. “We are losing the aim of the club, which is our members and our history.”

Financial reconstruction sits at the heart of his manifesto. Vilajoana pledged to attack costs “with a scalpel”, citing the €50 million commission paid to intermediary Darren Dein during last year’s Nike renewal as symptomatic of a culture that relies on outsiders because “we don’t have genuine professionals in each area of the club”.

“We need people who can close a commercial deal or negotiate a player contract without paying intermediaries for basic introductions,” he argued, promising to import expertise from the United States and monetise digital fans and academy graduates who do not reach the first team.

On sporting strategy, Vilajoana refused to be drawn into the public spat over the future of sporting director Deco, insisting he would “speak to everyone first” before deciding staff futures. His long-term target is for 70 % of the first-team squad to be La Masia products, supplemented by “idea signings” such as England captain Harry Kane, whose link-up play and finishing, he claims, fit the Barcelona model.

“Kane is one of the options,” Vilajoana smiled. “He represents the type of profile we cannot produce ourselves.”

The candidate was equally blunt about presidential “isms” that have defined past regimes. Having served under Núñez, Laporta, Rosell and Bartomeu, he believes the club must move beyond personality cults. “If employees are here for one president, they don’t understand the club,” he said. “Barcelona needs people who spend their lives at the club, not just a presidential term.”

With Font, Ciria and at least four other hopefuls already canvassing, Vilajoana believes his boardroom, sporting and commercial experience gives him the edge in a race that will be decided by the club’s 140,000 socio members. “The next president must take decisions from day one,” he stressed. “I am ready to do that.”

Away from politics, Vilajoana’s most vivid memories underline his lifetime bond with the blaugrana: facing Real Madrid as a player, the tears that followed the 1986 European Cup final loss to Steaua Bucharest, and the delirium of the 2017 6-1 Champions League comeback against Paris Saint-Germain. “It’s the first time I lost my mind during a game,” he laughed. “A very good memory.”