Toni Freixa was part of Barcelona’s board of directors on three occasions. The first was with Joan Laporta as president between 2003 and 2005, then under Sandro Rosell from 2013 to 2014 and, finally, in 2015 in the first year of the reign of Josep Maria Bartomeu.

On Monday, he spoke to Radio MARCA about the General Assembly that took place at Camp Nou on Sunday, as well as other issues related to the club.

“There was an abnormal circumstance and there was no time to deal with all the issues and [the assembly] had to be suspended,” he said.

“It simply came to my notice then. With the pace going, it was clear there would be no time. There were 12 different points [to do] and you can see that his pace would not allow it.”

With the departure of Leo Messi, Freixa ruled out the possibility that the Argentine had played for free.

“That [idea] that Messi should play for free was a spontaneous statement,” he said.

“The board’s plan to renew with Messi did not include Messi playing for free. It is impossible from the point of view of Financial Fair Play,” he said.