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Joan Laporta was honest about Barcelona's year: “I end the season pissed off and disappointed”

Joan Laporta dirige en su segundo ciclo al FC Barcelona.
Joan Laporta manages FC Barcelona in his second cycle.

Photo: Courtesy / Getty Images

EFE

For: EFE Updated 25 May 2022, 14: 14 pm EDT

The president of FC Barcelona, ​​Joan Laporta, it was shown “ pissed off and disappointed ” with the final stretch of the season of the first football team and regretted “the attitude” of the players who, in your opinion, have lacked “character” and “leadership”.

Joan Laporta: “I finished the season pissed off and disappointed. I understand that we had injuries at one point, but losing against Cadiz, Villarreal, and Rayo Vallecano at home causes me to be disappointed at the team’s attitude.” pic.twitter.com/dmYaV3ggut

– Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) May 14, 2022

“I end the season pissed and disappointed. Disappointed because, despite the fact that I am aware that we have had injuries, you cannot lose against Cádiz, Rayo Vallecano and Villarreal at home. I am disappointed with the attitude of the team. I have suffered as much or more than Xavi due to this lack of character “, affirmed the maximum president of the entity in an interview granted to the newspaper L’Esportiu.

🗣🎙 Joan Laporta in .@ tjcope : “I have suffered as much, if not more, than Xavi because of the team’s lack of character. It is a disappointment that this team has never had a real leadership at any time.”

— Som I Serem FCB𓅪 (@Somhiseremfcb) May 24, 2022

According to Laporta, the final stretch of the squad’s course reaffirms the club’s idea of ​​”strengthening the team and make important decisions” with a view to the next season.

Operations that, according to the president, depend on the ability to clean up the battered economy of the entity and release salary mass to meet the “strict” requirements of LaLiga regarding the rules of financial ‘fair play’.

Therefore, He again criticized the rules of the employers’ association of Spanish professional football: “We are talking about LaLiga on these issues, but or we see a very castled position. In short: according to LaLiga, not even by earning 600 millions of euros could we have a salary margin. If we make an operation between these options that we have to generate income, they would still cause us problems”.

On the table the board of directors has up to three options sale of assets -television rights, Barça Studios and Barça Licensing & Merchandising (BLM)- to be able to sign in the next summer market.

However, Laporta does not rule out taking “drastic decisions” to reduce the wage bill that, as he stressed, “it is very difficult to redirect a peaceful path” with the players.

“This (salaries) will have to be cut somehow. Normally it is by way of consensus, by way of agreement, but I also understand that the other parties that may be in this conflict say that they have a signed contract that has to be fulfilled“, he reflected.

Waiting to enjoy a margin to reinforce the first football team, Barcelona is negotiating the improvement of the contract of Pablo Páez Gavira ‘Gavi’.

🎙🚨| Joan Laporta: “We will not increase our renewal offer for Gavi because I don’t want Barça to continue in the line followed by those who came before us, who ruined Barça.” #fcblive— BarçaTimes (@BarcaTimes) May 02, 2022

In In this sense, Laporta revealed that the footballer has had the renewal proposal “for a long time” and that the club has not received a response from his representative, Iván de la Peña, whom he accused of “playing and comparing” with other proposals .

“If we have youth soccer players, we make them a very good present and future offer and it turns out that their representative is comparing and delaying the decision; It is understandable that I do not like the situation. I would encourage you to accept our proposal as soon as possible, because it also helps us to plan”, he pointed out.

Asked about the renewal of Kylian Mbappé by Paris Saint-Germain, Laporta believed that it is an operation that “distorts the market” and which, furthermore, goes against “all the principles” of the European Union. “These are the effects of a club having a state behind it,” he added.

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