Laporta talks Flick, Deco, Xavi, Koeman, La Masia – ‘He perfectly understands what the club is all about’ | OneFootball

In an interview with FC Barcelona’s media outlet to review his five years in office, Joan Laporta, who will now resign from his post as president ahead of new elections, discussed the club’s sporting situation as well as the decisions he has had to make during his tenure.

Kicking things off, Laporta reflected on the decisions he had made and how those had impacted the club’s fortunes on the pitch, saying:

“We’ve worked hard and made decisions that have paid off. The homegrown players are the heart of the first team, which has been strengthened with players who have adapted well and performed well, contributing to a historic season last year with the league, cup, and Super Cup titles.

“The team makes the fans happy, provides a great atmosphere, and makes you look forward to the weekend.”

Highlighting the importance of Deco and Hansi Flick, he added: “We’re in a process of improvement; Deco, along with Hansi, is always trying to improve the team. We’re proud, because that’s the most important thing: that the team brings joy to the fans.”

On the managers in his tenure

Having taken over as president in 2021, one of the first big decisions that Laporta made was to remove Ronald Koeman as manager and replace him with another club legend, Xavi Hernandez, who was later replaced by Flick in 2024.

Expressing his gratitude towards both Koeman and Xavi for their contributions during their time at the club, Laporta stated:

“Koeman arrived at a very difficult time. I’m very grateful to him, and he won a Cup with a fantastic match.

“Xavi gave hope and reconnected the team with our genuine style of playing football. He won the Super Cup and La Liga, and I’m very grateful to him for that too.” 

Talking about Flick and the success he has brought, Laporta added: “When we decided to bring in Flick, we brought in someone with his methodology but adapted to the Barça style because he’s a Cruyff disciple.

“He’s brought discipline, professionalism, and has contributed from the very first moment. He perfectly understands what the club is all about. I’d highlight his winning mentality and healthy ambition. He’s always demanding and wants more.

“With his personality, he’s earned the respect and affection of everyone at Barça. I see that he has a great rapport with Deco, and that makes the project work.”

Laporta is delighted with Flick’s work. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)

The president also explained how Flick’s appointment as manager came about, saying:

“I had heard great things about Hansi. Ralf Rangnick is a father figure to all these successful German coaches: Klopp, Tuchel, Nagelsmann, and Hansi Flick. After the conversations he had with Deco and Bojan, I felt even more comfortable.

“They told me they saw a professional, disciplined man who would bring the necessary criteria to get the team back to winning ways. When he arrived, we had that period for him to understand what Barça is all about.

“I wrote him a letter so he would know what he was getting into. He was always eager to learn everything about the club, about being ‘more than a club’… He’s contributed from the very first moment.”

Expressing confidence in the German tactician to lead the team to more titles, he added: “We let him work, which is very important, with Deco and his team.

“The president, the board, and the executives are there to help, but you have to let him work because they know a lot, they’re competitive and ambitious, and they meet Barça’s demands. I’m very confident that we’ll achieve our goals this season.”

On Deco’s importance and La Masia

Laporta also made sure to highlight the contributions of Deco since taking over as sporting director, saying:

“Deco’s decision is absolutely right. He knows Barça perfectly because he was a player on that legendary Barça team. He was the team’s leader in the dressing room. He knows the club, the market, and the demands of a club like Barça.

“He’s built a competitive team. With players from different footballing backgrounds, Lewandowski, Kounde, Dani Olmo, Roony, a young player who’s doing his job… along with the contract renewals of the La Masia players, which are very commendable.”

Expressing his gratitude, Laporta noted: “I value them highly because it was very difficult. He’s restructured the sporting side of the club alongside Bojan and Alexanko. The scouting department has also been modernised with Joao Amaral and his entire team.

“Deco is a leader with a very strong personality. He reminds me of Txiki, because he doesn’t want excessive prominence, quite the opposite. He wants to be left alone to do his job.”

On La Masia and the squad

La Masia – Barcelona’s present and future. (Photo by Judit Cartiel/Getty Images)

Laporta also highlighted the importance of La Masia to Barcelona and how academy products had now become the core of the first team.

“La Masia has always been a treasure, but it’s true that now there’s a fantastic scenario in place for a dream to become a reality. The work has been done to renew the contracts of almost all these players until 2031,” he said.

“They were players coveted by other clubs: Fermin, Balde, Bernal, Casadó, now Tommy, Eric Garcia, Olmo, Lamine Yamal… all homegrown players.

That’s what it means to love La Masia, because when a player arrives, they can realize their dream of debuting with the first team. That has to be demonstrated with actions, and thanks to the coaches, it has been possible.”

Continuing, he added: “Gavi is recovering, and Bernal scored a fantastic goal—something that many of us saw as possible even back in the youth ranks.

“And if you add in players like Joan Garcia, Pedri, players from other cultures like Raphinha, Frenkie, Lewandowski, who is giving us great results, Kounde, Araujo….”

As such, the 63-year-old stated that he saw a very bright future ahead for this Barcelona team, saying:

“I’m very optimistic. I think things are going very well. We have a title, the Super Cup, we’re top of the league, we have a very competitive cup semi-final against Atletico, we’re among the top eight in Europe in the Champions League.

“We’re the only club that doesn’t have a single owner but rather 140,000 members, with 10,000 new members joining last season, which shows that the club is alive and well. Right now, we’re contenders to win major titles.”