Barcelona president Bartomeu quits in fallout of Messi feud

Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu resigned Tuesday in the fallout from his feud with Lionel Messi and one the club's worst seasons in more than a decade. Bartomeu announced that his entire board of directors also resigned, thus avoiding a motion of censure vote that was scheduled for the coming weeks.

Bartomeu wanted to delay the vote, citing health concerns for the club's more than 110,000 members amid the coronavirus pandemic, but local officials earlier in the day authorized the vote to take place. More than 20,000 Barcelona members had signed a petition for Bartomeu and his board to face a motion of censure. The petition was made not long after Messi said he wanted to leave the club, and following the team's embarrassing 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, a result that capped the club's first season without a title since 2007-08.

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