Joan Laportapresident of FC Barcelona, gave a comprehensive analysis of the current situation at the Barça club during the interview he gave on the program ‘El Món a RAC1’, directed and presented by Jordi Basté. Next, we detail the ten juiciest phrases left by the Barça leader:
1
‘Negreira Case’
“Madrid is making an exercise in cynicism which is unacceptable”
“Madrid is not behaving properly. It is carrying out a mockery exercise that is unacceptable and unprecedented. Judge Joaquín Aguirre, at the request of Real Madrid, extended the investigation period. Since they found nothing, now they want to extend it before the end of the year. You only have to look at who the directors of the Referees Committee have been for 70 years. Ex-managers, ex-players of Madrid and in some cases, all at once- at the same time. We do not accept that.” The Barça president explained that he had not spoken to Florentino Pérez since the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia: “We did not talk about this (request to extend the investigation into the ‘Negreira case’ ) because it didn’t happen. We talked about the Super League.”
2
The technician’s decision
“I will not dismiss Xavi because he does not deserve it”
“I found out about Xavi’s decision after the game against Villarreal. It was surprising when Xavi told me because we didn’t plan it. I listened carefully to Xavi, who is an honest person. He showed complete dignity. Dear he Barça and I saw that He reflected on it. What he proposed has a lot of logic to relieve the pressure on the players and on him and that this postponed resignation will be good for the entity. He told the us that he resigned and asked to finish the season. Also that he was giving up the remaining year of his term. contract. He said this with great conviction. I replied that we had to fight to maintain stability. He asked us to listen of them. I told him that I only accepted that formula because he was Xavi. He caught the club in a very complicated situation. He did it very well last season, very well in the League and the Super Cup. We thought that by strengthening the squad and keeping what we had we would be fine and it went wrong. Dismissal? I have never considered it and he doesn’t deserve it.”
3
Sponsor
“Competitors are paying double what Nike is giving us”
“We have a situation that is not favorable, because they are not replacing our material, and because the competitors are paying us double what Nike is paying us. Terminate? That is what we are considering. We are was there for 20 or more years, but in the moment when it was difficult Nike did not show up. Once we told them that the market was paying us more, they made an effort, and we thanked them, but it was not enough. There are three options: continue with Nike, take what the market offers us “and the third way is to do it ourselves, through the BLM. We already make our own clothes and we do not leave this option aside, although there are safer options that what the market gives us,” admitted The president of Barça, who also clarified that it is necessary let’s have ‘ecommerce’, not the brand paying us. “All with full respect to Nike.”
4
Future candidate
“There are some areas of sports policy where the new coach has to adapt”
“Different options are being considered and it is in the hands of Deco, who is the sports director. I am now concentrating on Xavi and I want him to be well. I have full confidence in him.
Deco is fixing it. I didn’t talk to any coach. There are several areas of sports policy where the new coach has to adapt. There are places that cannot be removed because it gave us glory in the past and we will not give it up. There are six young footballers who have established themselves in the first team. Alexanco was in charge of the quarry and they were working hard. There will be a football director, Deco, and the coach who comes to Barça knows that we have a real style of play that the culés like. It’s true that every coach has his own style and will add touch and personality.”
5
Super League
“It will be with 16 or 18 teams and it should be a reality next season or 25-26”
“We seek competition and sustainability. It has to be a reality next season because, if not, I will think about it. Or 25-26. We were won the Luxembourg agreement and it is time to do it. Whether it comes or not. English people are mad at me. You make a proposal to a club that just by joining, you tell them they will win 100 million, which you won’t win even if you win the Champions League. Barça, Madrid, Inter, Milan , Naples, Rome, Marseille, three Dutch , Bruges and Anderlecht. There are 16 or 18 teams… 16 is better. How many clubs participated in the European Cup in ’55 and look at the championship now, the competition par excellence in Europe. ECA wants me to return to Barça”.
6
Return of a star to Palau
“I hope Ricky is a Barça player”
“I hope Ricky is a Barça player. In my first period as president we signed him. At the club we are excited.”
7
Effect on fair play
“If we meet the budget, we will end Barça’s darkest era”
“If we fulfill the ‘fair play’, that phase will end, which is part of the legacy we received. We have a budget that if met, will give us benefits. It is planned that this will be achieved without having to sell assets or player. When we arrived, we had 500 million in losses and 1,500 million in debt. If last year we had made a profit and responded to our own funds with a large amount, and we changed the debt, now we are in a very good path. We reduced the League debt from 1,850 million to 652, we reduced the sports wage bill by 172 million. The wage bill was 98% of revenue and now it is 57%. To have ‘fair play’, we have to have positive results, which we had thanks to the levers, “It’s true, and now we have reduced the wage bill, which is what LaLiga allows us.”
8
SIGNATURES
“Deco does it”
Laporta reaffirmed Barça’s desire to have Joao Félix and Joao Cancelo next season, who are now on loan from Atlético and Manchester City, respectively. “Deco is doing it,” said the president, assuming Barça wanted to include them permanently in their squad.
9
“Barça will not be SAD and we will not be Bayern’s model either”
“The associative model is only in Barça and I am a guarantor that Barça will not become a SAD. Investors greatly appreciate this feeling of the members, it is something unique. We also do not want to be a mixed thing like Bayern, why do we need to have companies, if we already have them. We can get them involved in the business line, without being inside the club. Bayern for me is a wrong model, why is it necessary let’s have companies that have 20 or 30% of the club, the club is owned by the members”.
1
The future of the captain
“We want Alexia to renew”
“We want her to renew. She wants to stay and we want her to stay within the parameters of the club. It is a single section where we have increased the budget.”
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
