Catalan based sports paper Sport today reports that Sandro Rosell has informally kicked off his election campaign for the presidency of FC Barcelona at the launching of a book by Gabi Masfurroll, FC Barcelona ex-director during the Joan Gaspart era, with Real Madrid’s Florentino Perez also present. Close friends, Rosell and Perez are probably the most influential men in Spanish football. This could possibly be a picture that can often be seen in the very near future.

The friendship that unites Gabriel Masfurroll with the former Barca vice-president and future candidate for presidency, Sandro Rosell, and Real Madrid president Florentino Perez would yesterday present an unexpected image. With the race for the presidency of Barcelona about to start, the presentation of the new book by Masfurroll gave that opportunity.

The event was marked by the ‘silence stance’ self-imposed by Sandro and Florentino and for the presence of several former personalilties from FC Barcelona, who took the ‘friendship’ as merely a common bond they have with Masfurroll. The former Joan Gaspart-era Barcelona vice-president will be in Rosell’s candidacy when the campaign starts, and Florentino Perez meanwhile, has a long friendship with the Catalan businessman who he also has collaborated with on different projects through his company USP Hospitals.

During the presentation of the book, directed by journalist Jordi Basté, Masfurroll was joined on stage by the General Counsellor Marina Geli, former minister and Vueling chairman Josep Pique, the editor of Platform Jordi Nadal, and the writer Susana Frouchtmann.

But the attention of the reporters are focused on the president of Real Madrid and Rosell, who warmly greets each other to the point that Masfurroll joked, “I want to especially thank the two person that I, if I was in his place, would not have come but they are here for the friendship”.

“I never thought I would be so close to a president of Real Madrid, and he has come here just to attend this event. But friendship is not at odds with this rivalry”. Masfurroll also joked about warning both men, saying, “I made them promise not to talk (to each other)”.

Rosell and Florentino is not the only protagonist present. Alejandro Echevarria, former club director and former brother-in-law of Barcelona’s president, Joan Laporta, was greeted warmly with Sandro Rosell. Other guests includes former directors Carles Tusquets and Francesc Closa, and former General Manager Anton Parera.