Fans had been trying to remove Bartomeu, who became president in 2014 and had fallen out with Lionel Messi. He stood down on Tuesday, along with the entire board of directors. In a leaving speech Bartomeu said Barca had begun proceedings to join a Super League to help its financial future. Bartomeu was due to step down in March, having served the maximum two terms as president, but was facing a vote of no confidence. More than 20,000 club members signed a motion to remove him. Resentment had grown against his leadership over the past year because of worsening finances and Barca’s decline on the pitch and their failure to win a trophy last season. Bartomeu also fell out with star player Messi in the summer after the Argentina forward handed in a transfer request. Messi failed to force a move and decided to stay, but said he felt deceived by Bartomeu, adding: “There has been no project or anything for a long time”. Barcelona are owned by their supporters, who vote to elect a president to run the club.