Grandiloquent promises in electoral campaigns are carried by the devil. In politics and in the FC Barcelona elections. In Real Madrid’s ones it is not known why there are none. A phrase has haunted Joan Laporta since those days before his victory in the elections on March 7, 2021. There is a video. In an interview with La Vanguardia he assured with his usual confidence that he would be able to convince Leo Messi to renew his contract around a barbecue. Today the Argentine plays in Miami after spending two seasons at PSG.
The Argentine’s departure was traumatic and has not been resolved. All the forwards signed to fill his void, with the exception of Lewandowski due to his number of goals, have not even come close to filling the sensational gap left. Memphis, Luuk de Jong and Agüero arrived in this order (all three free of charge), Ferran Torres (55 million 10 in variables), Aubameyang and Adama Traoré (free of charge), Raphinha (58 million 9), Lewandowski (45 million 5) , João Félix and Gündogan (free of charge) and finally Vitor Roque (30 million 31). The feeling of orphanhood persists. The claim of the best footballer in history has been wasted. Montjuïc, a temporary home while the Camp Nou Spotify is being rebuilt, lacks the hook of the great figure.
The record of the men’s first team has grown in terms of national titles. Ronald Koeman, coach inherited from the previous board, achieved a brilliant Cup (0-4 in the final against Athletic) with Messi, Griezmann, Alba, Busquets and Piqué still starting. The Dutch idol, ignored in the summer (a replacement was openly sought), was finally dismissed in the middle of the season by Xavi, whom Laporta had ignored in the campaign for supporting the candidate Víctor Font. With Xavi the path went from less to more. In the first season he qualified the team for the Champions League. In the second they achieved a very creditable League title with the bonus of the Super Cup against Madrid. In the third, the current one, which was to serve as a definitive take-off, the irregularity ran aground for Barça and Xavi ended up like Messi and Koeman, leaving, although in his case of his own free will, announcing in January a delayed resignation, fed up with the negativity of environment according to your thesis. The instability in the sporting leadership, so unusual in Laporta’s first term, has not helped to maintain a solid line of argument either, going from Jordi Cruyff and Mateu Alemany to Deco.
The sporting burden of the first team has been the European failure, with two participations in the Europa League by not passing the group stage of the Champions League, a stain that has repercussions at all levels, both tangible (the club has a difficult time being in the next Club World Cup due to the decline in its coefficient) as intangibles (the intimidating power of previous eras has been lost). The gradual loss of leaders such as Piqué and Busquets has left the squad without leadership, which on the other hand has experienced a hopeful generational boost with the arrival of youth players Cubarsí, Fermín, Balde, Héctor Fort and, above all, Gavi and Lamine Yamal.
In addition to that great news, Laporta can boast of having picked up the baton of women’s football with two historic Champions Leagues, one having just reached the stage and another in 2023. The departures of Markel Zubizareta, sports director, and Jonatan Giráldez, deferred as that of Xavi, determine a future in which it is not known whether Alexia Putellas will be there, confronted with the club over a renewal that does not arrive.
Laporta’s second stage will go down in history for an extraordinary record despite the cuts last season: full leagues in football, men’s and women’s, as well as basketball, handball, roller hockey and indoor soccer.
