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Laliga: Joan Laporta Speaks On Barcelona Players Who May Leave

Published

2 months ago

February 9, 2023

Laliga: Joan Laporta Speaks On Barcelona Players Who May Leave

Barcelona president, Joan Laporta has said the Catalans club is not planning to sell players to be able to bring in fresh legs.

Laporta made this known during a press conference held on Thursday over the economic situation of the club.

Speaking, the Barca president said “I want to talk about the economic situation, I mean we saved the club, we took decisions to reduce debt and now we are under control.

“The financial situation is improving everyday.

“We are in the process of achieving a record number of sponsorship contracts in the history of the club, as well as achieving records in stadium attendance, shirt sales, museum visits, and we are number one on social media.

“We have reduced the wage bill by around €100M so far, in the summer we’ve calculated that we will reduce another €70M.

“In other countries, fair play is more flexible. We’re trying to convince La Liga to relax the rules. We managed to register a player, but La Liga changed the rule for us to not undergo this operation, it’s a constant tug of war.

Commenting on alleged critic of Lionel Messi’s brother over ill-treatment of the Argentina’s national team captain and Paris Saint-Germain player saying “Lionel Messi is part of this club’s heritage. He belongs to PSG. Out of respect, I will not speak. His brother has apologized and that’s it.

“Balde’s renewal has been worked on and practically agreed. He wants to continue at Barça and due to fair play we are only waiting to be able to register him.

“This summer, we won’t have to sell great players to register new ones.

“We’re currently not thinking of selling Ansu Fati, but I cannot predict the future. Our hopes are high for Fati. He has interested clubs, we know from his agent. It is clear that he wants to succeed here.

“The Super League process is underway, it is a more attractive competition for everyone.

“The departure of Pique and Griezmann already means €90M reduction in wage bill.

“It is not necessary to sell players to be able to sign. We are not obliged to do so because we think we have other options. Everything will also depend on what is estimated in the market.

When asked about Dembele’s situation, Laporta said “Dembélé is happy and so are we. He is an important player for the club and for Xavi. We want him to continue at Barça.

Also about Sergio Busquets who is the captain of the team, Laporta said “For now we are focused on La Liga. Sergio is an important player for us and it’ll be difficult for our team’s dynamics if he leaves.

“When he decides, we’ll talk about it. Neither party considers that it’s the moment. We had a meeting before Christmas because he had offers from the MLS.”