Josep Maria Bartomeu left the Barcelona presidency on Tuesday as he had occupied it: amid rancor, bewilderment and controversy.
His resignation, and that of the entirety of the board, pre-empted a vote of no confidence that had been scheduled for Wednesday and which he would almost certainly have lost. But just as everybody was wondering what had taken him so long, came his bombshell: the announcement that he had committed Barcelona to a European Super League.
Last week, there had been the leak of yet another proposal for a super league, this one apparently to be bankrolled by JP Morgan and comprising 18 sides, with limited or no promotion or relegation.