Barcelona president keeps LaLiga gift promise to Messi and co.
The president of the Catalan club had committed to giving Ernesto Valverde's squad two presents if they won the league, and has duly come through.
The president of FC Barcelona, Josep Maria Bartomeu, has once again kept his word to his first team playing staff, although perhaps this time it is a little more reluctantly than before. The Blaugrana leader promised them all a luxury watch as a special gift for winning LaLiga last season, just as he did two campaigns ago. On that previous occasion, each member of the squad was handed a personalised Bulgari watch with the two titles, league and cup, as well as the club badge, incorporated into it.
Messi, Suárez and co. get LaLiga gifts
This time, the players had to wait a little while longer to receive their prize, but the president has now fulfilled his promise, personally delivering a Zenith watch to each of them. Despite it being a rather lovely Swiss watch - valued at around €10,000 - it did not have the same special connotations of the previous one. They had not been personalised nor did they have the LaLiga title printed on the dial.
This, however, was not the only present being handed out by Bartomeu to the team. Just before Christmas, after ending the year against Alavés at Camp Nou with a 4-1 win, the president went down to the changing room to distribute iPhones and Ipads. The players were able to choose between the mobile and tablet devices and, with the iPhone 11 Pro Max proving very popular, the rest of the employees had to settle for a new iPad.
The squad will have taken note of some words from the president before he delivered the watches this time around, as he promised a new gift "more spectacular than any other" if they are able to deliver the treble. With doubts over the what Ernesto Valverde can get out of the team this term - despite sitting top of LaLiga at the halfway stage - it seems Bartomeu may be able to save a few pennies this year.