More than disgrace: Barca's ex-president arrested!

Mes que un club - more than a club. This has been Barcelona's motto for decades. Or at least was until tomorrow morning, when the former FCB chairman Josep Maria Bartomeu, 57, was arrested for suspected criminal activities.

As a part of the so-called 'Barcagate' affair, police also detained the club's former CEO Oscar Grau, former director Jaume Masferrer and the club lawyer Román Gómez Ponti.

It is suspected that Bartomeu - who resigned in late October after six years of the presidency - and his associates allegedly hired several companies to carry out social media campaigns against the current and former players to improve the image of the then-president.

The Mossos d'Esquadra - the police force of Catalonia - have decided to search Barcelona's offices this Monday morning. According to people close to the club, the police officers are still carrying out an inspection. The exact details of what they're looking for have not yet emerged.

Bartomeu was significantly damaged by 'Barcagate' but denied involvement in the alleged smear campaign. An external audit ruled out Bartomeu's board as being behind it. Some board members, though, did resign in response. Bartomeu, 57, replaced Sandro Rosell as president in 2014. He had previously been vice president to Rosell, who stepped down after a lawsuit was filed accusing him of hiding the Neymar transfer's real cost.

Bartomeu and his associates (©Reuters)

Following the treble under Luis Enrique, Bartomeu was re-elected on a new six-year mandate in 2015. However, his popularity has decreased over the past five years, with problems off the pitch eventually dragging down the pitch's performances.

The presidential elections at Camp Nou are scheduled for Sunday, 7 March, and the main candidates for Bartomeu's successor are ex-president Joan Laporta and Victor Font.