We had to protect Barcelona and its institution from any harm, proclaims Carlos Ibanez

We had to protect Barcelona and its institution from any harm, proclaims Carlos Ibanez

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Barcelona hired I3 ventures

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I3 Ventures owner Carlos Ibanez has revealed that the cyber attacks against former Barcelona legends like Pep Guardiola and Joan Laporta was done in order to protect the club’s image. The La Liga giants remain in a major controversy that has stretched all the way from Josep Maria Bartomeu’s reign.

While Josep Maria Bartomeu’s reign at Barcelona may be over, the controversies that took place under the former Barcelona president’s tenure is still ongoing. That includes the alleged online attacks against the likes of Pep Guardiola, current president Joan Laporta, Carles Puyol and many others in what has now been termed as Barcagate. It saw Bartomeu reportedly hire I3 Ventures to do the same with the club embroiled in the long-running scandal.

However, with the former Barcelona president arrested in March over connections to I3 Ventures owner Carlos Ibanez’s corruption case, it saw Ibanez defend his stance. Ibanez has revealed that the attacks had nothing to do with improving the club’s prestige but instead had everything to do with protecting the Camp Nou side. He also revealed that they used reality to help their case and tried to control the damage from attacks against the club.

“It has to do not with improving Barca's prestige, but with protecting it from harm. All the people you mention attacked Barca and what we did was try to control the damage. We had to protect the institution from harm,” Ibanez said, reported Goal.

“If someone says that [former coach Ernesto] Valverde has to go because Guardiola is a soccer star, what one of these channels does is show that Pep Guardiola has not won any championship for three seasons.

“Does that discredit Guardiola? No. This is a reality, it is a fact. If you don't win championships, you don't win championships. Do not attack Valverde, who is part of our institution, saying that Guardiola is going to be the saviour when he does not actually win championships.”

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