Sandro Rosell, the former president of Barcelona, spent two years in prison before being released in 2019. He was responsible for leading the club from 2010 to 2014, and was condemned to prison for alleged money laundering.
He had been suspected of laundering around 20 million euros through tax havens in the period between the years 2007 and 2011. Rosell still maintains his innocence in the case, with the trial still ongoing.
Despite it worrying him, Rosell accepted the welcome he had got when he entered the prison. “I remember they gave me four condoms and a bag of petroleum jelly,” Rosell told Mundo Deportivo, saying it worried him a little.
In terms of getting though his time in prison, Rosell credits his survival to the people closest to him. He says he relied on his wife and friend for support. “Marta, my wife, was very strong and a pillar of our endurance.” He added, “my parents, brothers and my friends as well.” He also thanked his best friend. “Having my friend Joan Besoli there was key- I wouldn’t have endured it without him.”
“In prison you either die inside or you get stronger,” Rosell remarked. Fortunately, for the former club president, it seems to have been the latter.
