The situation
Barcelona president Joan Laporta attended Sport exclusively a few days after Gerard Piqué’s farewell. The goodbye of the defender blaugrana was one of the central subjects of the interview. He also spoke of the possible return of Lionel Messi, of the situation of Jordi Alba… Another of the issues that was discussed the most was that of the Super League.
The details
Pique: “Piqué’s departure has been decided by him. Probably motivated by a sports theme. If Gerard had had the coach’s confidence and played like an undisputed starter, he obviously wouldn’t have left. Piqué has decided what he wanted to do and we, from the board of directors, respect him. Xavi has been very honest with him. From the first moment the technician told him that he did not count on him and I also discussed his situation with him. But Gerard is a competitive man, a winner, and he still saw himself as a starter and wanted to continue. Although in the end he has seen the reality and has made a decision. He has had a way of saying goodbye to the club, given the rush, very nice. We always want our heroes to be eternal but it is impossible. The club pays him what corresponds until the last day that Gerard has worked.
Messi : “Leo knows that at Barça he always has his home. But let me not talk about Leo because he is a player for another team and we would enter again into a series of statements and counter-statements that would not benefit us at all. He has a valid contract with a European club. I can only say that Leo has been the best player in the history of Barça”.
Jordi Alba : “We respect the contracts. And Jordi has a contract until June 30, 2024. And we are going to respect it. Jordi is also a great Barcelona fan. I don’t want to get into any kind of controversy. In a moment of maximum difficulty they look for each other everywhere. Gerard’s decision has been personal and motivated by his sporting situation. Jordi Alba is having a good season, he is giving himself to the maximum and I don’t want to enter other derivatives”.
Financial situation of the club : “The public limited company, with me as president. it will never be done. My reason for existing as president of Barça is that Barça is never a public limited company, that Barça is always owned by the members of the club. I am a firm defender, as my career attests, that Barça always be the property of its members. With the levers we have saved Barça from ruin, we are recovering it economically and we have been able to make a competitive team. We no longer have the fears of the beginning of the mandate, when we received such a disastrous legacy”.
Super League : “The Super League is a great opportunity. But you can only win through dialogue. What the Super League aims to do is improve football, it fights for the sustainability of football, so that the clubs come out of ruin, so that the clubs can be more and more competitive and have more resources. From the outset, for the founding clubs, there is an initial bonus of 1,000 million euros. And per season we could get about 300 million annually in this competition. In addition, the key to the Super League is that the clubs will have governance. UEFA will obviously be at the governance table, but the clubs will have the majority.”