Madrid, Sep 18 (IANS): FC Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu is most likely to face a vote of no confidence from members of the club, who have gathered the necessary number of signatures to force the vote.

The platform 'Mes que una mocio (More than a motion)', formed by a group of Barcelona club members, on Thursday confirmed they had collected 20,731 signatures, comfortably clearing the required 16,520 to trigger the vote, reports Xinhua news agency.

The signatures have to now be confirmed to be authentic by a panel made up of a representative from the club, the Catalan football federation and from the group behind the no-confidence vote.

If 16,520 of the votes are valid, the rules of the club state a referendum over Bartomeu's continuity has to be held within three months in which his opponents would need to win two thirds of the votes of the club's 150,000 members in order to force him out.

Some have questioned the need of the motion (which was presented the same day that Lionel Messi said he wanted to abandon FC Barcelona) given that the club will hold elections for a new president in March 2021 in which Bartomeu will not be able to stand.