What next for Bartomeu and Barcelona after a successful vote of no confidence?

It’s taken a while to get through most of the votes cast in the first stage of the vote of no confidence relating to Barcelona president, Josep Maria Bartomeu.

The validation of successful votes is almost concluded, and has already surpassed the threshold needed to trigger a referendum, which is stage two of any vote.

Theoretically at this point, Bartomeu could still remain as president, and it doesn’t look like he’ll resign anytime soon.All of the reporting in Catalonia indicates that he will tough out the next few weeks in the hope that the referendum doesn’t garner enough votes to oust him from a position he has held since 2014.

Were there not a pandemic, it’s difficult to believe Bartomeu would have any hope of staying until his term ends next July.

Elections are due in March 2021 in any event, and the four months post-election would give the current board a chance to handover to the new incumbents.

However, there’s little doubt that Barca’s fan base want him to go now. There are still hurdles to jump if they want that to become a reality though, so what’s next?

A date will be set for members of the club to vote on whether Bartomeu should continue or not as president of FC Barcelona.

The call to vote must be published on the club’s website and must take place within 40 days of the verification of the signatures.

Likely around the end of October or early November, club members will have to decide whether or not Bartomeu should be removed immediately.

For the vote to be valid, a minimum of 10% of the club members must participate in the vote.

For the motion of no confidence to pass, a two-thirds majority vote must go in favour of removing the current president.

If the referendum is passed and Bartomeu’s exit is forced from the club, new elections will be set for a new president and board to take over the reins at the club.

Should the above scenario come to pass, then it’s highly likely that a new president could be in place as early as December, meaning that the January transfer window could look a lot different for the club.

If a new incumbent is keen to bring back all that Barca’s fans hold dear – ie a particular style with players brought up in La Masia – Ronald Koeman may not even see the year out.

It does mean more upheaval for the club in the short term, but it should be for the common good.

Short term pain for long term gain.