Laporta talks Lamine, Flick, Raphinha, Camp Nou return ahead of Ballon d’Or gala | OneFootball

FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta is currently in Paris, leading a huge delegation of players from both men’s and women’s teams, Hansi Flick, and board members to attend the 2025 Ballon d’Or gala later today.

The Blaugrana have a number of nominations across multiple categories and are expected to return with a lot of gold.

With not much time left before the ceremony kicks off at the Theatre du Chatelet, Laporta granted a brief interview to the media.

Laporta on Ballon d’Or ceremony

The Barcelona president discussed his feelings heading into the Ballon d’Or gala, saying:

“Feelings, pressures. This is my comment on this journey. What I want is for a Barcelona player to win the Ballon d’Or. We also have nominees for the Kopa Trophy, and we have nominees for the Women’s Ballon d’Or as well, and also for the Best Goalkeeper Award.”

Continuing, he added: “We also have Hansi Flick, who was honoured and attended here. You know that Hansi is a very hardworking person.

“But he knows that the club must be well represented here, and of course, with the presence of its coach, who, for me, is the best coach in the world.”

On how Lamine Yamal was feeling ahead of the ceremony, Laporta noted: “I see Lamine with great enthusiasm, surrounded by his friends and teammates who still aspire to win the award as well, like Raphinha.

“He is now injured in the damned pubic area and I hope he recovers soon. He said that maybe he will be okay for the Oviedo match, but I see him with great enthusiasm. He is an 18-year-old boy, and imagine, it would be historic if he could win the Golden Ball.”

Ballon d’Or incoming? (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

Hoping for Barcelona players’ triumph, he added: “Last year, there was a surprise. And we are all here with great anticipation and a lot of enthusiasm, hoping that our nominees will succeed in winning the award.”

Talking about arriving for the ceremony with a big delegation, Laporta seemingly aimed a dig at Real Madrid’s decision to boycott the event by saying:

“It is a great honour to be here today. It is a matter of respect for football, respect for the Ballon d’Or, and also respect for the nominees.”

“We are very happy: From Barcelona’s side, we are probably the club with the most candidates.”

On Camp Nou

Laporta also took time to provide an update on the club’s plans to return to Spotify Camp Nou, insisting that everything is ready from their end, and the reopening could happen very soon.

“It will now depend a lot on what the city hall officials say, but we have done our work. We have the completion certificate, we have the work control certificate, we have the civil defense report, and we have the environment report. Tomorrow you will see.

“The stadium, as we told La Liga and UEFA, is ready to host matches. We are waiting for the first occupancy permit.”

Continuing, he added: “We know that these are processes that must be carried out, and we don’t want to put more pressure than necessary, but it is clear that the time is very close.

“We will see what the city hall and those responsible for the recent visits say, as there are frequent periodic visits due to the scale of the work. We are ready for anything; we have already made all the corrections requested of us.

‘We are confident that we will be back as soon as possible.”

Source: FCB World