Former Barcelona executive backs club’s pursuit of Serie A defender – ‘Great signing’ | OneFootball

Barcelona’s pursuit of Alessandro Bastoni is an open secret at this point. As the club gear up for a busy summer ahead, signing the Inter Milan centre-back has emerged as a top priority.

Bastoni, for his part, is keen on joining Barcelona. But the Catalans must still find an agreement with Inter Milan, which remains the difficult part.

But even as Barça work in the background, the club has received a huge endorsement in favour of Bastoni, from none other than Ariedo Braida.

Braida backs Barcelona move for Bastoni

In a recent interaction with Eram News (h/t SPORT), the 80-year-old, who served as AC Milan’s general manager from 1986 to 2013 and later as head of international football at Barcelona between 2015 and 2019, gave his full backing to the club’s pursuit of Bastoni.

“It’s difficult for me to talk about an Inter Milan player after having worked for many years at Milan, but in my opinion, he is a great player and one of the pillars of the Italian national team,” he said.

Barcelona are desperate to sign Alessandro Bastoni. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

On whether Bastoni would thrive at the Camp Nou, the veteran executive was equally unequivocal. “Barcelona is a great club, and I think Bastoni will be a good signing and will achieve success with them.”

Braida on Hansi Flick’s future

Given his close personal relationship with Joan Laporta, Braida also took the opportunity to talk about the future of Hansi Flick.

“Laporta is a personal friend of mine, and Flick is a great coach, and I think the renewal will be good for both parties to continue with the successes,” he said.

Flick himself, speaking ahead of the Celta Vigo match, hinted strongly at his long-term commitment without addressing contract specifics directly.

The German coach has spoken openly about two personal ambitions: Winning the Champions League with Barcelona and being present when the fully completed Spotify Camp Nou opens its doors at full capacity.

Both objectives are firmly tied to his continued presence at the club beyond his current deal, which runs until 2027.