Luis Noboa Ycaza has promised in the past few hours to “have a check” to pay Barcelona’s debts if he is elected president, although he is analyzing whether he will make his candidacy official. He already tried to run in 2011, but the Electoral Court led by Carlos Coella disqualified him because he held a public office (members of the assembly), did not reside in the country and because Eduardo Maruri from the board of directors sanctioned him administratively. he was vice president (Noboa said it was just split).

Today Noboa, in this first part of the conversation with UNIVERSEtalks about his virtual decision to seek the post of bullfighting president and refutes what Rafael Verduga – who left the financial vice-presidents to run for election – said in this newspaper that the last three administrations have left the club up to 16 million in debt dollars each (Luis Noboa was part of two of those committees).

Noboa sends two messages to Verduga: “leave the vanity and prominence” and “explain where the $16 million figure came from.” In the second order, he confirms that if he appeared as a creditor of Barcelona it was because “at that time I wanted to help financially” and that he has a check ready (without specifying the figures) to end the multimillion-dollar debts. Like several former leaders, he does not believe in the results of the last two audits (the court found a debt of almost 52 million dollars as of September 30, 2019).

Is your candidacy for president of Barcelona SC already a fact?

It is a possibility that I evaluate 100%. I have a plan to move the club forward, but for that to happen and to come with the check, as I said I would do to pay that debt and end it, we have to go through a process where the institution can keep its commitments. What I mean is, for example, if you have a debt of $100 and someone earns a salary of $10 a month, you won’t be able to pay it off in a month, but if you give them a chance in two or three years, they will be able to pay it off. So, when it is clear how much is the debt and what is the economic position of the club, knowing how much is the possible cash flow, assets, a plan can be made that I feel able to implement.

You say you will arrive with a cheque, if you apply, but the successors of the board you integrated accused you of being one of the main creditors of Barcelona SC.

You have to separate things. Being a creditor and being a member of Barcelona SC to become president are different things. Being a creditor means wanting to financially help the institution to solve the problems it had at that moment, whatever they were. Wanting to be president and saying that I want to bring changes to the club is setting a vision, maybe long-term. Nothing is clear about the debt, it is unclear what amount it is. I have never seen a balance sheet and a clear view of the debt, nor where the support comes from. It is always said, for example, that at the time of (Eduard) Maruri, it was between 10 and 12 million dollars. Later it was said to be $30 million, then $60 million. Now they are talking about 45 million dollars. Several audits were conducted that were not independent, directed against the leaders to attack those they wanted. This did not lead to anything healthy for the institution. What is needed is an independent audit that shows the reality and not only lists the liabilities but also the assets, because I would say that Barcelona SC is the most profitable company in Ecuador.

Rafael Verduga, financial vice president of Barcelona SC, told this newspaper that the last three managements of the club (those of Eduardo Maruri, Antonio Noboa and José Francisco Cevallos) created debts of 15 or 16 million dollars and that the current board of directors is the one that started reducing liabilities, what do you think about this?

I need to see actual numbers to express the validity or invalidity of that comment. What I can say is that Rafael Verduga has been around Barcelona SC since before 2008, the year I was part of the board (led by Maruri). Let’s not forget that at the time of Gala Roggiero (2006-2007) Verduga was expelled from the club and punished (at one time he was the director of the club’s Training Commission and the leader of ‘AgruPasión Torera’). When Roggiero left that position, he was accused before the regular courts for allegedly misappropriation of duties). He is allowed to be part of the management because he was a manager or assistant manager, however he has a very big and personal problem that he will have to clear up with the club. I’d like to see what the numbers he cites are based on and where those $15 or $16 million in debt for each of the directories he mentions came from. What I can say is that if the debts are paid, it is thanks to (Carlos) Alfaro Moreno. He is the president who led the institution. That is why I insist that vanity and emphasis on the words ‘we did it’ must be abandoned. The leadership of President Alfaro Moreno with his leadership led to all this.

The management of Eduardo Maruri is still very questionable, especially due to economic problems, bad signings of players and coaches who later filed millions of lawsuits. Do you regret being a part of it, along with your brother Antonio Nobo?

You need to understand the evolution and the way sports entities work. It was always about the best possible. I was not in charge of any management in which I gave my financial support. I was part of the board, as well as other groups of people trying to do the best things. Great things have been achieved since the time of Isidro Romero. Numbers and sponsors were brought in and an attempt was made to do something better with that school. One cannot complain that figures have been brought into the sport, but what could not be expected is whether they will stand out because many problems, such as emotional factors, affect it. Now, to start criticizing the past and the path I have already taken is very difficult and would not be fair to other people who led that era. What is important is the unity of all Barcelona fans and forgetting about the vanity that each of them can have. Perhaps at that time there was a lot of protagonism by leaders or people who wanted to show that they were in charge of the institution in order to make themselves famous.

How did Luis Noboa, who was at the beginning of the presidency of Eduardo Maruri in 2008, and later integrated the one led by his brother Antonio Noboa, with the partner of Barcelona SC who today would seek the position of presidential candidate?

In 2008, I was a person who was just getting to know what it means to be the leader of such a great institution as Barcelona SC. I connected with management and the opportunity to see how the team could be restructured. My training and experience is more focused on the business field and that is actually what I have dedicated myself to and have continued to do since I started it in 1994. Personalities evolve, change and have different experiences that lead to improvement.

Who would you vote for if you were to finalize your candidacy for Barcelona SC president?

Voting is secret and I think it is best that everyone (of the applicants) presents their project and when we know (what they propose) we will see who we will support. Everyone must meet all the conditions required by the statute. However, I saw that some of those who say they want to participate (in the elections) do not meet the conditions, because they had serious sanctions in the past. (D)