Barcelona president talks Flick, Camp Nou, PSG loss, Champions League – ‘Our players will never give up’ | OneFootball

It has been an eventful set of months for Barcelona with ups and downs, as is always the case in the Catalan capital.

From their slow start in La Liga to their strong run thereafter and the contrastingly strong start to the UEFA Champions League to the defeat to PSG, a lot can be said about the team’s form, performance and scope for improvement.

Concurrently, the Spotify Camp Nou saga and the Negreira scandal have ensured that there is not a silent day in Catalonia and for the offices of Joan Laporta and Co.

Laporta’s speech

Speaking to the media in a recent public appearance, Barcelona president Joan Laporta commented on the faith he had in the first team to continue fighting for all titles this season.

“We see ourselves with the strength to continue. We always overcome obstacles, and that makes us stronger,” he began.

“Our players and coaches have a premise: in everything we fight until the end, not only in competitions but in the obstacles we find,” he added.

He then spoke about the team’s recent defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League and how he liked the dressing room’s response to the setback.

“I have been with Flick, with the players and with Deco, and I liked their reaction: they are aware that there are things to correct.”

“Better now than later, because I see them motivated to compete for the Champions League. Our players will never give up,” he added, positive that an early jolt was necessary.

On the work done by his board

Laporta and Co. took over the administration of the club at a time when the club was financially crippled and overspending. On the efforts they have put into bringing the club close to the 1:1  rule once again, he said,

“We had a salary bill exceeding €600 million when we arrived,” he began.

Laporta proud of the work his Barcelona board has done. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

“We picked up a disastrous legacy and we had to make a great effort to save Barça and we have done it,” he added.

“It gave us confidence to recover the economy, push forward the Spotify Camp Nou and make La Masia the axis of our sports project,” he added on the positives he and his board saw.

On the Spotify Camp Nou

Finally, Laporta opened up on the Spotify Camp Nou, which the team were supposed to return to midway through last season, but have still not been able to count on.

“We have been brave with the stadium, which will allow us to be competitive. Other clubs can earn capital and there are state clubs, which have money-making machines. We are proud to be a club of members,” he said, outlining Barcelona’s model.

“The stadium was an absolute necessity, because if we missed the train, we had to go out to get money,” he added on the importance of renovating the stadium.

Speaking on the schedule of work and the result of the renovation, the president said,

“There were imponderables: we worked in two shifts, not in three as other clubs did in their stadiums. We had to make ‘remediations’.”

“The stadium will be the safest in the world; it is much safer than it was in 2022,” he added.

Finally, he spoke on how he felt they had done enough to reopen the venue, but maintained that he respected the City Council’s stance.

“We believe that we could already have the first occupation license, but we respect what the City Council says.”

Source: Mundo Deportivo