Sandro Rosell, former president of Barcelona, has detailed his 645-day prison stint, all for a crime of which he was later acquitted of.
The former Barcelona executive was sent to prison without bail following allegations of money laundering in relation to buying television rights for past matches of the Brazil national team.
“They (the inmates) threatened me a couple of times, but a couple of guys I had become friendly with immediately came to my defense,” Rosell stated on the program Viajando con Chester to Risto Mejide.
“They were going to beat me up. One for being president of Barcelona and another for being Catalan. It happened to me once in Madrid and once in Barcelona, but both times they protected me without my asking for it.”
Rosell: In prison I cried several times and I cried my eyes out
Rosell also reveals that he could see his family twice a month, and explained how tobacco is the currency that is most frequently used.
“Prison is grey and a bit stale, but at the same time you discover a lot of humanity, it is a constant contrast of emotions, colors, sadness, even laughter,” Rosell explained.
“I have always tried to be very cerebral, I don’t remember having cried in my whole life and there I cried several times and I cried a lot, then I felt better.”
Sandro Rosell talks about sex in prison
Rosell also discussed the sexual encouters that take place in prison
“When you go to prison, you say that they give you a packet of condoms and Vaseline. You ask yourself… What for? You findout what for,”‘ Rosell explained.
“Yes. There is a lot of homosexual relationship in prison, but even among people who are not homosexual.”
Rosell: The Prosecutor’s Office accuses me of human organ trafficking
Rosell also recalled that he has been acquitted of five charges and that only one is currently pending.
“I have had six cases so far, five of which the Prosecutor’s Office has accused me,” Rosell stated.
“Of the six that have asked me for prison sentences, I have been acquitted in five of them. I only have one more pending, which the prosecution is accusing me of trafficking in human organs”.
