In 2019, after spending nearly two years in prison, Sandro Rosell was released on the condition that he give up his passport and not leave Spain.
The former president of the Barcelona club, which he led from 2010 to 2014, was in prison due to charges of money laundering.
About his time in prison, Rosell opened up to Mundo Deportivo that it was a troubling experience- “It worried me a little.” Especially worrying was the way he was welcomed in prison. “I remember they gave me four condoms and a bag of petroleum jelly,” he said, adding that he accepted it even though it made him anxious. “In prison you either die inside or you get stronger.”
This strength, Rosell said, he owed to his wife and friend. “Marta, my wife, was very strong and a pillar of our endurance.” His best friend was a big help too. “Having my friend Joan Besoli there was key – I wouldn’t have endured it without him.”
“My parents, brothers and my friends as well,” he said, acknowledging the importance of family, too.
He is said to have remarked that he probably wouldn’t have to face prison if he’d never been president of the club.
