Laporta talks Lamine, Aitana, De Jong, Fermin, Real Madrid after Ballon d’Or gala | OneFootball

Barcelona president Joan Laporta gave an extensive interview to RAC1 earlier today, hours after he returned from Paris after attending the 2025 Ballon d’Or gala.

During the interview, the Barça chief discussed several important matters, one of which included the plans for the return to the Spotify Camp Nou, insisting that everything is in the hands of the City Council.

Laporta on Lamine, Aitana’s wins

Laporta also spoke in detail about the Ballon d’Or gala, where Lamine Yamal won his second Kopa Trophy while finishing behind Ousmane Dembele in the race for the top prize.

“In Lamine’s case, we were on the verge of the Champions League final. In his position, he’s the best in the world. Yesterday, we told him that no one has won two Kopa trophies, and he’s second for the Ballon d’Or,” said Lamine.

“He’s motivated to continue and win the award next season. He’s a kid with healthy ambition, competitive and professional. He gives his all in training and was fine and eager to recover from his groin pain.”

The Barcelona president confirmed that they had no idea about who was winning the Ballon d’Or, and even tried to extract information from those in the know-how, but failed.

“I guarantee you we didn’t know anything. I spoke with Andres [Iniesta], Ronnie [Ronaldinho], Ceferin, and no one knew anything, and the owner of France Football also preferred not to know so as not to tell her children.

“No one knew anything. We asked everyone, even high-ranking officials in France, and nothing was known.”

Lamine Yamal finished second in the Ballon d’Or race. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

On whether Lamine was disappointed after missing out on the top prize, Laporta stated:

“Look, Lamine isn’t depressed at all. He would have liked to win like Raphinha or Pedri. But the thing about Lamine is that everyone creates expectations for him, but he handles it well; he’s very mature. He was laughing and joking yesterday.

“At one in the morning, we were eating some really good hamburgers that he and Cubarsi arranged to get because we were hungry.”

Talking about Aitana Bonmati’s third consecutive Ballon d’Or win, Laporta revealed how the Barça Femeni superstar was not expecting it.

“Aitana was surprised. She deserves it. She was euphoric. She made Barça reach the Champions League final, and in a final, anything can happen. We have great players,” he said.

“I want to highlight the work of the coach Pere Romeu, the sporting director Marc Vivés and the director in charge of women’s football, Xavier Puig. They do an extraordinary job.”

Laporta on De Jong, Fermin

Meanwhile, the Barcelona president also confirmed that contract talks with key midfielder Frenkie de Jong are progressing positively, and good news should be around the corner.

“The renewal with De Jong is being worked on. De Jong has done an extraordinary job. We said we didn’t want any player whose contract expires this year, but we made an exception for De Jong because he changed agents,” said Laporta.

“He’s motivated; he even says he’s sleeping despite having recently become a father. We expect good news soon.”

Laporta also expressed his delight with Fermin Lopez continuing at Barcelona despite being linked with a move to Chelsea late in the summer.

“I admire him because he is ‘a son of the club’, from our academy and completely integrated. He is a fantastic player, and Flick considers him a player with development that will lead him to be a phenomenon,” said Laporta.

Fermin Lopez snubbed Chelsea to stay at Barcelona. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Continuing, he added: “He is good now, and we know that the coach is counting on him a lot. Our goal this summer was to keep the group, and when I say the group, I mean everyone, and of course, Fermin.

“Flick also told us during the pre-season in Korea that he is counting on him a lot, because the rumours said he had an offer, and there was indeed an offer from Chelsea, and there were other clubs that wanted him.

“I am very happy that he is with us, and he knows this. In the last match that he was injured, and it seems that it was less than we thought. At first, it scared us, but he is a young man who gives everything, and I am confident that he will return soon.”

The Barcelona president also aimed a dig at Real Madrid over their boycott of the Ballon d’Or ceremony, saying:

“Let them do what they want. We’ll take care of Barça. Out of respect for the nominees, winners and organisers, we’ll attend. It’s part of our understanding of sport. You can win and you can lose. You have to know how to lose. We’re lucky to win a lot and lose little.”