Who was Barcelona doctor Carles Miñarro? What was the cause of death?

The world of soccer is in mourning following the death of Barcelona club doctor Carles Miñarro, which resulted in the postponement of the LaLiga game against Osasuna on Saturday (March 8), just minutes before kickoff.

Barça stars, Mbappé and Joan Lapotra pay tribute to Carles Miñarro

Marc Andre-Ter Stegen, Ronald Araújo and Dani Olmo were among the Barça players who voiced their disbelief at the news on social media, while Kylian Mbappé and Thibaut Courtois posted messages of condolence from within the Real Madrid locker room.

Speaking to the official Barcelona website, club president Joan Laporta paid tribute to Miñarro.

“A man very much loved by everyone passed away this afternoon during the team’s gathering at the hotel. As you can imagine, the players, the coaching staff, the coach, everyone was very sad.

“There was an overwhelming sense of sadness because he was a very beloved person. We all loved him. He travelled to every match to take care of the players, the coaching staff, anyone. He never said no to anyone. It is very sad what happened.

“It has left us devastated, in a state of shock, because it was so sudden. We got in touch with his mother and his wife to offer our condolences and support. We wanted them to know immediately. Carles leaves behind two children. His wife, as you can imagine, was also deeply affected.”

What happened to Barcelona doctor Carles Miñarro?

Although the club itself hasn’t confirmed what happened to Miñarro, reports in Spain have reported he suffered a sudden heart attack at the team hotel.

The 53-year-old doctor, who specialized in sports traumatology, sports medicine and physiotherapy, had been part of the Barcelona staff since 2017, when he started working with the futsal team. At the start of the 2024/25 season, he joined the first-team staff as second in command to head doctor Ricard Pruna.

Before working for Barça, he had previous roles with CE Sabadell, Terrassa FC and UE Sant Andreu, lower league soccer teams in Catalonia, as well as working at a the Centre d’Alt Rendiment de Sant Cugat, a high performance sports center.

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