Outgoing Barca president Bartomeu: We accepted Super League invitation

Josep Maria Bartomeu isn't leaving quietly.

The Spanish entrepreneur, who stepped down as Barcelona president on Tuesday, claimed the club accepted an invitation to join a European Super League.

"I can announce some extraordinary news," Bartomeu said, according to The Athletic's Dermot Corrigan. "Yesterday we accepted a proposal to participate in a future European Super League, which would guarantee the future financial sustainability of the club. And we have accepted the future Club World Cup format."

"The decision to play the competition now must be ratified by the next (club) assembly," Bartomeu added, as quoted by Rob Harris of The Associated Press.

Last week, reports surfaced that Wall Street bank JP Morgan, Liverpool, Manchester United, and more clubs from England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain were discussing the creation of a new 18-team competition named the "European Premier League." It would replace the Champions League and could earn participants sums well into nine figures for joining.

"Unfortunate (Bartomeu's) statement on his last day about FC Barcelona joining a weak and imaginary competition which would be their ruin," La Liga president Javier Tebas tweeted after Bartomeu's address. "It confirms his ignorance about the football industry.

"Sad end for a president with successes and lately many mistakes."

Despite Barcelona's potential money-spinning entry into a new continental competition, Bartomeu warned earlier in his address that he and the outgoing board didn't get the chance to safeguard the club's future before they departed amid mounting supporter pressure. "There will be very grave consequences for the immediate future of the club" if more salary cuts aren't implemented in the coming days, he warned.

Barcelona recently announced a financial loss of €97 million in the 2019-20 season. The Catalonian outfit blamed the coronavirus pandemic for a drop of over €200 million in income over that period and has subsequently slashed expenses such as players' salaries, management fees, and wages of non-playing personnel.