Barcelona president gives his honest verdict on this year’s Ballon d’Or and provides update on Camp Nou return | OneFootball

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has a lot on his plate when it comes to various operations. However, it is also important for him to publicly represent the club and always back his own players and the club’s staff. Even recently, that is exactly what he did.

With the Ballon d’Or ceremony coming up soon, there is a lot of excitement and anticipation. As for Barça, the Catalan giants have various players nominated for the prestigious award as well.

Moreover, as quoted by SPORT, Laporta believes that the award should go to a Barça player and specifically mentioned Lamine Yamal as a contender for it:

“I believe the Ballon d’Or has to go to a Barça player. We’ve got four nominees. Lamine is playing at a genius level and proves it in every match. He has something that only Ballon d’Or winners have — he gives everything in training. You play how you train, and he just keeps improving. I hope the Ballon d’Or goes to Barça. We’ve also been nominated as a club, in both men’s and women’s categories. We’ve got a lot of female players nominated too. Cata is up for the Yashin, Hansi for the Johan… And I saw that Hristo [Stoichkov] publicly backed Lamine — I love that.”

Photo by Judit Cartiel/Getty Images

However, beyond just the Ballon d’Or, the Barcelona president also gave an update on the team’s return to the Camp Nou and clarified the current progress:

“We’re doing everything in our power to keep the works on schedule. We’re working closely with the Barcelona City Council — they see it as a project for the city and the country — and we’re all aligned so that we can receive the occupancy certificate and get back home as soon as possible. If you’ve seen the progress, it’s a joy to look at. It’s getting better every day, and I hope we’ll return to our home very soon. What we ask for is success — for Barça fans to be happy and enjoy themselves at the Spotify Camp Nou. I’m sure we’ll live unforgettable moments there.”

As for other operations, player registrations remain a massive concern for Laporta. Fortunately, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen’s decision to finally authorise the club to send his medical report to La Liga could prove to be crucial in that regard, and it remains to be seen just how much it helps.