Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu, along with the rest of the board of directors, have resigned from their positions at the club on Tuesday, according to reports in Spain.
A vote of no confidence was due to be held and instead of waiting for the results, they have stood down, reports Spanish publication Sport.
Barcelona members were due to conduct the vote, but amid the global pandemic, Bartomeu said he did not want to put the Barca fans through the process.
Bartomeu had written to acting president of the Generalitat (Catalan government), Pere Aragonés, expressing his concerns on Sunday.
He wrote: ‘Our electorate has an average age of 58 years, with more than 40,000 members over 60 years old. Our greatest concern is focused on avoiding any action that places these groups at a very high risk of contagion, given his vulnerability,’
This was a bid from the president to delay the inevitable after the members had called for the vote to occur so as to force him out of his post.
With the Generalitat rejecting his request to avoid the vote, he and the rest of the board have left their positions.
Barca managed to hang onto Lionel Messi in the summer, despite him making it clear he wanted to leave the club at one stage, but the problems have not been solved.
Ronald Koeman has arrived as manager, but has won just two of his first five league games in charge and saw his side beaten 3-1 by Real Madrid in El Clasico at the weekend.
