In the Auditori 1899, one of the few facilities that still operate normally in a Camp Nou that is already beginning to be history after the total demolition of the third tier began this week, the traditional annual meeting of the board of directors was held with the Senate, the oldest members of the entity. Before 112 of the 1,000 summoned, the president Joan Laporta made a very realistic speech with the right dose of illusion. Far from the great promises of yesteryear, without giving names of signings and without mentioning Leo Messi after the possibility of his return being closed collapsed like a house of cards.
“It has been a good season in sports. The main objective, which was to win the League, has been achieved. This is, in large part, the merit of Xavi Hernández and his coaching staff. Also of the players”, indicated the maximum president. “But we want more. We are demanding. For weeks we have been working on reinforcing the first football team. We want to aspire to everything next season”, stressed Laporta, familiar with all the conversations led by the football director Mateu Alemany. In this sense, the Spaniard met electronically on Tuesday night with Gundogan’s agent, Xavi’s favorite to occupy the interior position and free Pedri from having to play all the games.
Gundogan, the Manchester City captain who has just won a treble and who would arrive free, already knows the conditions that the club offers him. He also knows that to close his arrival the entity must first transfer a footballer to be able to register him. And he has asked for a few more days to decide. On the table is the offer to renew City, Barça and another from PSG. The latter is practically ruled out. “The legacy in the sports salary mass is very high. We have been reducing it, but we have to do it more to be economically sustainable”, recalled Laporta.
“LaLiga has some rules. Despite the efforts, we have to continue. But they have approved the feasibility plan and that is already a step. We will be able to sign up young players whose market value has risen,” he said, referring to Gavi and Araújo, whose market value has risen from 60 million to 90 million in the case of the youth squad, and from 30 to 60 in the case of the Uruguayan, according to the portal specialized Transfermarkt.
In his speech, Laporta praised the Champions League that Barça won for women, thanked Jordi Cruyff for the work done, who leaves sports management by his own decision, and opened two more folders: the Espai Barça and the Negreira Case.
“The Negreira case is a giant smear campaign. Barça has never carried out any action to try to alter the competition. Having technical and arbitration advice with people with extensive experience in the world of football is not a crime, ”he said. Regarding the remodeling works, he explained that “in two years the project has been redefined, the costs have been resized and the works have started. We have achieved that it does not cost money to the members and subscribers of the club by closing an agreement with 20 investors who have contributed more than 1,400 million euros. Now we have to go play at Montjuïc. Make an effort to have the best stadium in the world. And we have lowered the prices of the initial subscriptions because we are managing to generate more income, ”he declared.
Before closing the speech, Laporta claimed his club and management model. “The secret of this is that there is a clear leadership in the club and that each one does his job. The players are fulfilling their obligation to help the commercial department of the club. The players play and fulfill commercial obligations. The technicians get the most out of performance, they train with maximum harmony with the sports management and the football area. And as for the president and the board, they make decisions and direct the entity to where it has to go”, he sentenced.
Two and a half hours later, the senators left the Camp Nou. There was a scheduled question time. Nobody asked about Leo Messi. Realism is the new essence of the club.
