Barcelona President Joan Laporta on Camp Nou return, accounts and Real Madrid relations

Barcelona President Joan Laporta has once again espoused that the club are a victim of a national narrative against the club, citing the Negreira case. He also defended the club’s position, after a summer of heavy criticism over the club’s finances.

The Blaugrana were only able to make two signings this summer in Dani Olmo and Pau Victor, despite 13 players leaving the club. Laporta claimed that criticism was deliberate to destabilise the club.

“We are better off economically, socially and sportingly. The destabilisers from outside will have to work hard to make us falter. The president and the board of directors receive criticism and we accept it to improve, but we reject the declarations made to destabilise Barca. We are stronger than ever, with more determination to complete Barca’s recovery.”

Some have posited that the excuse of the financial situation that they inherited is starting to wear thin, three years on from taking over control of the club. The Blaugrana president maintained that the economic recovery of the club would be complete this year though.

“We receive many lectures from those on the outside, but what we are doing is saving Barca with the minimum possible time and without putting our future and associative model at risk. We are also building the Spotify Camp Nou, which is almost a reality. It is a collective dream of Barcelona fans. We have done it with the support of the members of Barca. We have come out of this dead end.”

He also promised a profit from this year’s accounts, although he could not confirm that they would be in the black without a sponsorship deal with Nike, which Barcelona are in negotiations for.

“We will present the club’s accounts shortly, after the board of directors meeting on September 26. I can already announce that these years have given positive ordinary results, as I already said before the senators. We have made a historical record in sponsorships and in billing of BLM.”

“Barca will always be owned by its members and the legacy we will leave will be better than the one we received. The actions of the executives are always for the benefit of the club. The signing of the shirt sponsorship agreement allows us to register players without so many difficulties. but the sporting tempo does not always coincide with the economic tempo.”

While confirming that the Negreira case has kept relations between Barcelona and Real Madrid frosty, Laporta was more upbeat about Camp Nou. He believes that they will be back in their home stadium by the end of the year, nearly two months after the date originally planned.

“Everything is going at the planned pace to host games at the end of the year. We do not want to set exact dates, but we are convinced that this is a reality. Everything indicates, despite the obstacles, that by the end of the year we will be able to play. We will have positive results. By being at Montjuïc we have missed out on €100m, so the interest in returning is maximum.”