Gerard Piqué criticizes Josep Maria Bartomeu with one sentence

Gerard Piqué has sent a sharp critique of former club president Josep Maria Bartomeu, in concise fashion and without mentioning him directly.

FC Barcelona are set to play against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League. The Catalans need a good result in order to progress as second in the group, while the Bavarians can rest easy knowing they’ve already won the group.

The two clubs’ fate since an important 2015 semifinal which Barcelona could not be different. Bayern are in a strong position and remain one of the top contenders for the Champions League, whereas the blaugrana are in an economic crisis, struggling in the league, and looking at a possible group stage exit.

When asked why the two clubs’ fate has diverged so much, Piqué answered: “the club’s management, it’s as simple as that.”

The comment has been interpreted in the media as a clear indictment of Bartomeu’s time as club president, which ended in chaos.

“We have to look at the present and the future, there are things that we can be excited about, thinking that things will turn out well in the short and medium term. We are not in the situation we would like, but you can see different things in the team that we didn’t used to have for a long time. And we are incorporating them. If we do things better and better, we will end up competing better, I’m sure,” the defender said.