The worlds of sport and business are mourning the death of Gabriel Masfurroll Lacambra, former vice president of FC Barcelona and president and cofounder of the healthcare group Clínicas Mi. He passed away at the age of 72, as confirmed over the weekend by the company he led.
Born in 1953 and trained as an economist, Masfurroll built a prominent career in Spain’s private healthcare sector. He began his professional path at the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau and later held roles at institutions such as Fundació Puigvert, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, and Clínica Quirón. Over the years, he also served on the boards and in executive positions of several national and international healthcare companies.
One of the milestones of his career came in 1997, when he founded USP Hospitales. Under his leadership as president and CEO until 2010, the group expanded beyond Spain into Portugal, Morocco, and Angola, becoming one of the country’s most influential private hospital networks. In 2015, the acquisition of Barcelona’s Clínica Tres Torres marked the starting point for the creation of Grupo Clínicas Mi, which later added centers in Lleida and other specialties. The group is currently led by his son, Gabriel Masfurroll Cortada.
Masfurroll’s connection to sport, and to FC Barcelona in particular, was long-standing. He was a member of the club’s board between 1988 and 1992, later serving as vice president from 2000 to 2003 during Joan Gaspart’s presidency. He also held the role of vice president of the Barça Foundation between 2010 and 2015. Beyond football, he was a former elite swimmer at Club Natació Barcelona and represented Spain at international level, and he went on to preside over Laureus Spain from 2012 to 2020.
His influence extended well beyond business and sport. He was part of the Cercle d’Economia, chaired the Social Council of the Autonomous University of Barcelona for nine years, and co-founded the Catalan Down Syndrome Foundation. In memory of his son Álex, who was born with Down syndrome and died at the age of three, he also promoted the Mi Fundación Álex. In recognition of his professional and social contributions, the Catalan government awarded him the Creu de Sant Jordi in 2008.
FC Barcelona publicly expressed its condolences on social media, adding, “Rest in peace.” The club observed a minute of silence in his memory ahead of the match against Osasuna at Camp Nou, which ended 2-0.
