Joan Laporta is clear. If there wasn’t a club legend on the bench, he would have already opted for an immediate dismissal and would not have accepted a deferred resignation like the one proposed by Xavi Hernández. This is what the president said yesterday in an interview with El món on RAC1. Optimistic by system, the leader painted a general situation of the club on the way to a solution, he was very forceful against Real Madrid in the Negreira case and in the pressure on the referees through the white television, and he dared to say that he “slips” if the English teams are in the Superliga or not.
Going forward, the sporting situation is the main focus of concern according to Laporta, who sees an improved squad that has not met expectations. This lack of results led Xavi to decide to leave on June 30. The president accepted it for who he is. “If it wasn’t for Xavi, I would have fired the coach. But I think that the formula he has proposed to us can work”. Laporta stated that he has never considered firing the coach. “If it’s for us, it will continue until the end of the season. I will not dismiss Xavi because he does not deserve it”.
The Barcelona manager did not give excessive hints regarding the profile of Xavi’s replacement because he said that he was focused on the current season and delegated it to the figure of Deco, the director of football: “He is the one who has to choose, but the new coach will have to adapt to our style, although he will be able to add his touch. It must have a certain trajectory, unless we adopt a more imaginative solution”.
From this point of view, he did not rule out the coach of the subsidiary, Rafa Márquez, “because he is training at the club and knows the young people”.
If he tiptoed over this topic, where Laporta launched himself with everything was when criticizing Madrid’s role in relation to the arbitration collective and the Negreira case. “They are practicing an unacceptable exercise of cynicism. At the request of Madrid, the judge (Joaquín Aguirre) has extended the investigation period for six months. We have never bought the referees”, emphasized the president. In this area, Laporta underlined the incidence of Madrid in arbitrations, in his opinion, since ancient times. “It is enough to check who have been the presidents of the referees for 70 years: either members of Madrid, or ex-managers or ex-players. And in some cases all at once”. To illustrate his reflection, he recreated the last precedent, the controversial arbitration in Almeria at the Bernabéu. “It was a shame and everyone saw it.” According to him, the role of the Real Madrid TV videos is yielding results: “The Spanish Federation should say that it is a way to put pressure on the referees”.
Despite this sharp criticism against Madrid, they continue to go hand in hand in the Superliga. Laporta urged that this competition be launched next season or the following, because if not it will be reconsidered if it returns to the key of UEFA and the Association of Clubs (ECA). “I don’t care if the English teams are there or not, we will have a continental Super League”, said the manager, who mentioned teams such as Inter, Milan, Naples, Roma, Olympique de Marseille, Ajax, Feyenoord, PSV or the big three Portuguese as future participants in the tournament.
A competition that should give Barça economic oxygen. Although, according to Laporta, the club’s coffers are already seeing the light. “If we fulfill the budget, we will have put an end to the darkest stage in our history”, postulated the president, who is confident of being up to date with regard to financial fair play in the next market. He did not rule out, in any case, selling a player this summer.
Barça needs money by land, sea and air, and a source of income always comes from the shirt. The relationship between Nike and the club is very damaged, as the president acknowledged. “We have a situation with Nike that is not the desired one. They have breached parts of the contract, and the market offers us double”. This market is, for example, Puma, although the representative did not mention other brands. The club has three alternatives, continue with Nike, switch to a new firm or generate its own brand.
In what he said he had no doubts Laporta is the ownership model. Never heard of a transformation of Barça into a limited company or anything similar. “I am the guarantor that Barcelona will continue to belong to the partners. No one comes in here.” He is also not convinced by a mixed system like that of Bayern, with 49% of members and 51% in private hands. “What need is there? We want sponsors who bring us money and not who can take it away from us. We can find partners to enter into business and develop it. We have it without changing the model of society”. A Barcelona that must continue to be the same as always and that will play in its new stadium. when will you do it “If there is no imponderable, we will return to the Spotify Camp Nou at the end of this year”.
To finish, on the role that Alejandro Echevarría has within the club, Laporta stated: “He is my brother-in-law. I trust him a lot, he is like an adviser without a portfolio who advises me, especially in security matters, as he already did in my first stage as president”.
