Chief Exec News from Torygraph

[Jumanji]

Goal.com broke the story, correct?

 

[johnny crossan]

Goal.com broke the story, correct?

I think so but now
MUEN's take on it

He helped turn Barcelona from under-achievers into world-beaters off the field – so Ferran Soriano could be just the man to take Manchester City to the next level.

Soriano has emerged as the front-runner to replace Garry Cook as the Blues close in on a new chief executive.

Cook resigned in September over a scandal that saw an e-mail sent from his account to Nedum Onuoha’s mother Anthonia.

Director John MacBeath has filled in as acting chief executive during City’s long search for a permanent successor.

And Soriano, the president of Barcelona-based airline Spanair, may just be the man for the job.

When he joined Barca’s board in 2003, the club were ­ by their high standards ­ in the doldrums.

Under the trigger-happy presidency of Joan Gaspart, Barca had just completed three years without a trophy, going through five managers in the process.

Soriano, who is 44, came in under new president Joan Laporta, and played a significant part during a period that brought both success and stability to the Camp Nou.

On the field, manager Frank Rijkaard was given time to make an impact, despite a slow start, and ensured a return to the glory days ­with the club winning the Spanish title twice and beating Arsenal in Paris to lift the Champions League trophy in 2006.

Soriano certainly had a role to play in that success.


In his position as vice-president, head of economics and general manager, he worked closely with club technical director Txiki Begiristain on the football side of Barca’s business.

But his key impact was arguably on the commercial side. When Soriano arrived, Barca’s income was only half that of United’s. Despite a huge fan base and a stadium capable of holding almost 100,000 people, Barcelona were only the 13th highest earning club in Europe.

Under Soriano, revenues rocketed as the club began to exploit their earning potential.

Today, Barca are second only to Real Madrid in European football’s earnings league.

During his five years at the Camp Nou, Soriano also became an influential voice in the running of European football as a member of the executive committee of G14, the grouping of the continent’s most powerful clubs.

In addition, he represented Barca on UEFA’s European Club Forum, and served on the Champions League competitions committee.

He is, undoubtedly, a man used to being in the room when the big decisions affecting top-level European football are being debated.

Soriano – ­ who speaks excellent English as well as Spanish, Catalan, French and Portuguese ­– established his reputation as an astute businessman in the 1990s.

The Barcelona-born son of a hairdresser and a market trader, Soriano gained his MBA at ESADE, Spain’s leading business school, in 1990 before studying in New York and Belgium.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal during his time at Barcelona, Soriano said that his studies had taught him the value of corporate responsibility ­ and of making sure that major institutions did their bit for the community.

It was a key part of Barca’s ethos during his stint at Camp Nou, and it is a vital part of City’s outlook under Sheikh Mansour’s ownership.

“I have come to believe that there’s nothing worse than focusing solely on tomorrow’s profits,” Soriano said. To prove the point, it was on his watch that Barca displayed Unicef’s logo on their shirts and made significant donations to the charity.

“In addition to our reputation for spectacular soccer, we have decided that we also want to stand for social commitment,” he said of the deal.

Soriano’s time at the Camp Nou finally came to an end in 2008.

A fallow couple of years on the pitch led 60 per cent of the club’s members to cast a vote of no confidence in Laporta’s presidency.

Soriano was one of eight directors to resign, but Laporta stayed on as president until 2010.

When Laporta did depart, Soriano supported fellow former vice-president Marc Ingla’s bid to replace him, but he was beaten in the elections by Sandro Rosell.

In the meantime, Soriano has focused on his business duties, and is expected to stay on as Spanair’s president for the next few weeks while a proposed part-sale of the airline to Qatar Airways is completed.

Once that is done, the opportunity to return to top-level football beckons. It is a challenge he is likely to accept eagerly.

<a class="postlink" href="http://menmedia.co.uk/manchesterevening" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://menmedia.co.uk/manchesterevening</a> ... euro-force

(if true another bad day for the Cabal's leader)

 

[bumbleblue]

Hope this is true. Any ideas when any announcement might be?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

 

[Matt the Giant]

This would be very very good for the club if true.

Will he bring "his own" man with him, Begiristain? Even better if so.

 

[Jumanji]

This would be very very good for the club if true.

Will he bring "his own" man with him, Begiristain? Even better if so.

Yep. Or at least that's what is being reported.

 

[another generation]

Sorry to ask, but what exactly is begiri and can the stain be easily removed?

 

[Matt the Giant]

This would be very very good for the club if true.

Will he bring "his own" man with him, Begiristain? Even better if so.

Yep. Or at least that's what is being reported.

Awesome!
Shit... I can't believe how big our club has become.

 

[gelly]

Barcelona are also in debt to the tune of four hundred million most of it from the Laporta era. Of which Soriano and Txiki were part of. The Barcelona current board were trying to sue the whole board from Laporta era at one stage.

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.barcelonareporter.com/index.php?/news/comments/fc_barcelona_fans_divided_about_lawsuit_against_joan_laporta_former_club_pr/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.barcelonareporter.com/index. ... r_club_pr/</a>

 

[Blue Haze]

Excellent news if it happens.

These Potts rumours made me nervous.

We'll have a proven, experienced football CEO.

 

[DTeacher]

...(if true another bad day for the Cabal's leader)

Could well be a few POTTS being thrown around the flat.