As an election to install FC Barcelona’s new president looms this coming Sunday, the club saw its former president arrested Monday after Catalan authorities raided its offices.

Josep Maria Bartomeu, who resigned as club president last October, his adviser Jaume Masferrer, the club’s current CEO Oscar Grau, and head of legal services Roman Gomez Ponti were all arrested on Monday, and are believed to be in police detention.

FC Barcelona said it will fully comply with the investigations.

The arrests appear related to a scandal in which the club is alleged to have purposefully overpaid a marketing firm, I3 Ventures, to create social media smear campaigns targeting Barcelona players, including Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique, former captain Xavi Hernandez, and two candidates to replace Bartomeu as club president. Investigations connected Facebook pages attacking those individuals to I3 Ventures.

The club denied the allegations, and terminated its relationship with I3. Catalan police also searched I3’s offices.

Last year, more than 20,000 fans signed a petition calling for Bartomeu to step down, triggering a referendum on his status. He resigned, along with the club’s entire board of directors, before the vote took place, and was replaced on an interim basis by Carles Tusquets.

FC Barcelona expects to lose a total of $600 million as a result of the pandemic. Messi, the club’s superstar, is rumored to be packing his bags for when he can exit his contract in June.

PepsiCo will remain the official soft drink and chip of the NBA, WNBA, and G League after announcing the renewal of a multiyear marketing partnership. Financial terms of the renewal were not disclosed.

The NBA began its partnership with PepsiCo after the league ended its 28-year relationship with Coca-Cola in 2015. PepsiCo also has partnerships with the NFL and NHL.

Ruffles of PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division will air its first TV spot in nearly a decade during Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game. The commercial features NBA All-Star Anthony Davis and Grammy-winning musician T-Pain. 

Ruffles also collaborated with All-Star Jayson Tatum on a signature hot BBQ flavor that pays homage to his St. Louis roots. The chip brand will be the title sponsor of future NBA All-Star Celebrity Games as well. 

MTN Dew will remain the title sponsor of the NBA and WNBA 3-Point Contests. During Sunday’s contest, the brand plans to announce a new scholarship fund that will award two students from HBCUs with $100,000.

In January, Front Office Sports reported that LeBron James was preparing to join PepsiCo after endorsing Coca-Cola’s Sprite and Powerade brands for nearly 18 years.

Want to see how those Tonal machines really work? Stop by Nordstrom.

Tonal is setting up shop in 40 Nordstrom stores across 20 states — adding to its 16 brick-and-mortar locations. The companies said the partnership is a long-term deal.

Customers will be able to demo Tonal’s wall-mounted workout station in Nordstrom’s active department and talk to a Tonal employee about the $2,995 device. The company says it has a “more than 90% market share” in the connected strength training category.

Like Peloton, Tonal’s sales skyrocketed during the pandemic — rising 800% from December 2019 to December 2020, according to Tonal CMO Christopher Stalder.

The Tonal deal is an extension of a strategy that’s been in place for the retailer. Nordstrom launched an Active section on its website in December and previously said it plans to devote more space to activewear in its stores.

“It was a pretty seamless opportunity across the board,” Lori Marten, merchandise manager for Nordstrom’s active category, told CNBC. “One that really helps us build our authority and authenticity in a space that we are aggressively growing.”

Amazon’s Alexa Fund and three-time NBA champ Steph Curry are Tonal investors. Nordstrom reports its fiscal Q4 earnings after market close on Tuesday.