Joan Laporta
- Thread starter barSELOna
- Start date
iniestaGOAT
Senior Member
Laporta delivering some truth bombs
Messigician
Senior Member
Laporta: "Players that sign long term contracts for PSG are basically accepting to become slaves for money." https://t.co/U7AcqLYg4V
Messigician
Senior Member
Tebas is right
This clown licks Papa Perez ass
Laporta: "Mbappe staying at PSG is a sad reflection on the state of football. That is what happens when you have a state funding you from behind. Players end up being kidnapped with money. It goes against all of the principles in the European Union."
This clown licks Papa Perez ass
Laporta: "Mbappe staying at PSG is a sad reflection on the state of football. That is what happens when you have a state funding you from behind. Players end up being kidnapped with money. It goes against all of the principles in the European Union."
malvolio
Senior Member
He better start delivering a competitive team. 1 year of bullshit is enough.
FinBarcelonafan
Well-known member
Doesn't look good, when you hear about other team's warchests. Even Tottenham has 150mil to use next summer.
malvolio
Senior Member
He's more pissed off at PSG fucking them over that Super League deal. But it was never in Qatar's interest to go ahead with that when they are top dogs at UEFA right now.
A Barca president getting furious at Real not getting the best player in the world. Is Pique on board with this shite?
Messigician
Senior Member
Breaking
"Bartomeu is planning to respond to Laporta's latest provocations, some uncomfortable truths will be revealed"
"Bartomeu is planning to respond to Laporta's latest provocations, some uncomfortable truths will be revealed"
wisconsincule
Senior Member
Best thing he could do is sell the team to a rich owner.
FinBarcelonafan
Well-known member
Exactly. These comments are worrying. Excuses lining up already..
Luftstalag14
Culé de Celestial Empire
Full interview with L'Esportiu:
Joan Laporta (Barcelona, 1962) has multiple open fronts about to end his first full season as President of Bar?a in his second stage. The main headache, the men's football team, which has finished the course in a daunting way, shouting at some signings that, right now, cannot be made because it is not understood with Javier Tebas, the president of laLiga, and the team does not have fair play. From this, the renewals and possible solutions to the bad economic situation, in addition to reviewing the rest of the sections, talks to L'Esportiu.
Against Villarreal, in the last game and some whistles. What is the balance of the course?
Once we make the change of coach, the team improves. Xavi did very well. We are facing a disastrous last stretch of the season. The first one was already, we improved with the change to the bench, and the end of the season has been bad. It is a team that is still under construction, which needs to be strengthened, and we have not had the necessary spare parts to fill the absences due to injuries that we have had. When it looked like we were resurrecting and we were hopeful it could go well, we had a number of circumstances and, beyond the injuries or certain decisions that have been made in the direct opponents' matches, we haven't had enough close-up funds to face this league final on the upward line we were on. This leads us to reaffirm the idea that we need to strengthen the team and we have to make important decisions.
How do you assess this season?
I end the season angry and disappointed. Disappointed because, although I am aware that we have had injuries, you cannot lose to C?diz, Rayo and Villarreal at home. I'm disappointed with the team's attitude. I have suffered as much or more than Xavi for this lack of character. I don't understand and it was a big disappointment. This team has never had a leadership and I have been disappointed and angry. Barca's first team at home cannot be allowed to lose to C?diz, Rayo and Villarreal. It's a big disappointment I have as president. And we have to add that we haven't won any of the finals we played last week, neither women's nor basketball. Does it have merit to reach the final four of basketball? Yes, but it is not admissible to lose as we lost to Madrid in the semi-final. Let's see if handball gives us a joy in Europe and futsal, in the league. But overall I'm disappointed and angry.
"Losing will have consequences," he said. Changes in the workforce are expected within what the economy allows.
The diagnosis is clear. Of course losing has consequences, and that's why we changed coaches. We saw that we lost the last league, the beginning of the league was not good either and the consequences have ended up being the change of manager. Now we have a squad that needs to be structured more and needs to become more competitive. We have inherited contracts that are difficult to redirect and we will have to make decisions in this regard. I imagine it will be drastic decisions or that they have to adapt to the economic situation of the club. The legacy we have received is disastrous, it is a reality. Redirecting this economic situation still takes time. We have a number of options, but there are no great ones, because they all involve either selling TV rights or stakes in the companies that develop the club's business lines. In addition, we have a double perverse reality, which is the criterion of the professional football league [LaLiga]. It is implausible how he reacts to a situation like that of a club like Bar?a, which is in need of generating income. However, even if we generated certain income, LaLiga's criteria would not allow us to have salary margins. We respect the rules, but we understand that they are strict and are a comparative grievance with other countries. We're talking to LaLiga about these issues, but we're seeing a very tight position. Short and short: according to LaLiga, neither depositing 600 million euros could have salary margin. If we do an operation between these options that we have to generate income, they would still put us in trouble. The latest news we have is these. It is difficult to live with these restrictive and strict criteria set by the professional football league.
Let's talk about names: Demb?l?. How's the issue right now?
They have our proposal and a date to make a statement, because there is no more room. We're preparing for next season a long time ago and it's an issue we've got stuck on, because the agent doesn't respond to the offer. Looks like they're doing a counter-proposal. There's a priority right now, which is to straighten out the economy to have fair play. There are a lot of players who have appearances and operations that are pending and LaLiga doesn't open up to give it to us. The criterion that follows is very restrictive.
What are they going to do if LaLiga doesn't open up?
Keep arguing and trying to convince them that we have to have fair play, because we can't sign anyone for next season. There are operations that are already done, but LaLiga follows a very restrictive criterion and urges an operation that they want us to do and that would generate a minimum fair play. But we wouldn't fix much either. It means selling 10% of the TV rights, and we're trying to make that, if it happens, in the best conditions. Not in conditions that do not compensate.
It refers to CVC.
Yes.
On Monday he was in Madrid, talking to LaLiga. Have they made progress?
Very little. They must already know what they're doing... We think that if this operation is carried out, Bar?a must be accounted for. Otherwise, it's not worth doing. There are operations we are considering to improve accounts and LaLiga, instead of helping, is trying to harm us. I'm very surprised.
What day should fair play be resolved?
It could be resolved during the summer market, depending on the solution we choose. What interests us is before June 30 to have it resolved because we are also waiting to close the accounts this year.
Does the renewal of Sergi Roberto, which is imminent, also depend on fair play?
It all affects. All of this will be announced as we can have fair play. Sergi Roberto is a player that the coach wants, who considers that he understands the system perfectly, because he has been playing in the house for many years, and the coach says it helps him to have players like that. He has always had a full commitment to the club. We plan to renew it, but we also have the fair play that is blocking us.
What about Gavi's renewal?
His representative has long had the renewal offer on the table. We don't have any news that he's accepted. The news we have is that he is comparing and that at some point he will have to say something. We have already said our position and, at the moment, it is not accepted by the player's agent.
The grief I'm comparing?
yes, because we don't understand. He is a player that we all like; he is 17 years old, a magnificent present and future at Barca, and we do not understand why his representative is playing and comparing. I think the club's proposal, within our salary levels, is more than acceptable. In addition, we will not leave these levels, because I do not want Bar?a to continue in the line that followed those that preceded us and that have brought Bar?a to ruin. We have to put criteria into it, and that's what we're doing. If we have players coming out of the squad, we make them a very good present and future offer and it turns out that their representative is comparing and delaying the decision; it's understandable that I don't like the situation. I would encourage him to accept it as soon as possible, because it also helps us plan.
More names; Ferran Torres. It has been the great investment of the latter market (55 million). How do you rate your first half season?
In the area of salary it is where it corresponds. He is a player who, apart from having a great technical quality, has been selected and has a track record. We're very happy with him. It must be understood that adapting to the Bar?a system takes some time and I think when Pedri has played he has performed more. It's obvious. When there's a working team manager, it makes the strikers roar. Pedri is a midfielder who comes in and has a goal and helps the attackers. And I think Ferran's game was in good tune with Pedri's. These are no excuses, but these are situations that have occurred. We've had injured players who were performing well. First Ansu and now Pedri. Ferran has a long history at Bar?a and we are very happy with his attitude and quality.
Adama Traor? also arrived in winter. You have a purchase option of 30 million euros and you told the filing that you would like to make it. Will it be carried out?
We're happy with him, too. He's given the team another air, there's nothing to recriminate. I'm back to the fair-play theme. It is a high purchase option and, in addition, the market is moving and we have the situation of Trincao that is very reciprocal because they come to be the same amounts. We'll see what happens. The market is moving and there is interest in these players and we will have to assess the fair-play factor.
What is the future of Dani Alves?
These are technical decisions that both the technical secretary and the coach will eventually make. We are delighted with the performance, the atmosphere it has created and how it has helped young people. We are grateful for what he has contributed to the club and now there are sporting circumstances that must value the player, the coach and the technical secretary. Dani's goal is to play in the World Cup. If with the forecast we are doing for next season it has no minutes, it can see its presence hurt. The technicians have to assess it.
Speaking of Alves he has a friend, Neymar, and Xavi, the other day, he said he likes it. Do you like Neymar?
Who doesn't like Neymar? He's an exceptional player.
PSG may now open the door for him...
He has a contract with PSG, he has four or five years left. These players who have signed for clubs like PSG have almost signed their slavery. For money.
Messi, too?
Messi went the way it went. We would all have wanted him to end his sporting life here and for whatever reason he couldn't have been. It could not have been for the fair play of the Spanish league and for PSG's proposal. These players when they enter a dynamic like this find that they cannot leave because the operations are many millions of euros. You'll tell me, in Neymar's case. I don't know how they're going to do it in France, because maybe they have other systems that we don't have here, but cancelling a system that's signed in advance costs a lot of money. It is also true that PSG have a state behind them, they have a lot of money and maybe they can make a prepayment to terminate such a contract.
Should Neymar come free?
All these players to return to Barcelona one day should come free. We are not in a position to make a purchase of what a transfer of these players might cost. But even if we had the money, we would. It would be irrational. If they are players who are free and are on the market, then they are of exceptional quality and that Bar?a have already enjoyed. Then it would be a question of the coach thinking whether or not they can fit into Bar?a's new project. As players, I both like them a lot.
And for Lewandowski, could an investment be made?
Lewandowski has one more year left on his Bayern contract and that is the situation. And that's it, I can't say anything else.
But he's taken some steps, like saying he's already played his last game...
Let everyone work. We have to respect that he has a year left on his Bayern contract. He's a very quality player, we really like him as well, but he's under contract.
One of the first movements in this market is that of Mbapp?. How do you appreciate that he's renewed for PSG?
This distorts the market. Players end up being hijacked for the money. These are the effects of a club having a state behind it. This goes against all the principles of the European Union. It is a reflection on the sustainability of football in Europe. Then there is the reading that can be done from Bar?a. There is a direct opponent that does not come out stronger and we prefer that we can not do the guarantion when it comes to competing. But I'm left with a reflection on the sustainability of football. Because I don't think we should worry so much about an opponent either. We have to worry about having a competitive team, which is what we're trying to do. It has been seen that when we have worried more about us than rivals, things have gone well.
Joan Laporta (Barcelona, 1962) has multiple open fronts about to end his first full season as President of Bar?a in his second stage. The main headache, the men's football team, which has finished the course in a daunting way, shouting at some signings that, right now, cannot be made because it is not understood with Javier Tebas, the president of laLiga, and the team does not have fair play. From this, the renewals and possible solutions to the bad economic situation, in addition to reviewing the rest of the sections, talks to L'Esportiu.
Against Villarreal, in the last game and some whistles. What is the balance of the course?
Once we make the change of coach, the team improves. Xavi did very well. We are facing a disastrous last stretch of the season. The first one was already, we improved with the change to the bench, and the end of the season has been bad. It is a team that is still under construction, which needs to be strengthened, and we have not had the necessary spare parts to fill the absences due to injuries that we have had. When it looked like we were resurrecting and we were hopeful it could go well, we had a number of circumstances and, beyond the injuries or certain decisions that have been made in the direct opponents' matches, we haven't had enough close-up funds to face this league final on the upward line we were on. This leads us to reaffirm the idea that we need to strengthen the team and we have to make important decisions.
How do you assess this season?
I end the season angry and disappointed. Disappointed because, although I am aware that we have had injuries, you cannot lose to C?diz, Rayo and Villarreal at home. I'm disappointed with the team's attitude. I have suffered as much or more than Xavi for this lack of character. I don't understand and it was a big disappointment. This team has never had a leadership and I have been disappointed and angry. Barca's first team at home cannot be allowed to lose to C?diz, Rayo and Villarreal. It's a big disappointment I have as president. And we have to add that we haven't won any of the finals we played last week, neither women's nor basketball. Does it have merit to reach the final four of basketball? Yes, but it is not admissible to lose as we lost to Madrid in the semi-final. Let's see if handball gives us a joy in Europe and futsal, in the league. But overall I'm disappointed and angry.
"Losing will have consequences," he said. Changes in the workforce are expected within what the economy allows.
The diagnosis is clear. Of course losing has consequences, and that's why we changed coaches. We saw that we lost the last league, the beginning of the league was not good either and the consequences have ended up being the change of manager. Now we have a squad that needs to be structured more and needs to become more competitive. We have inherited contracts that are difficult to redirect and we will have to make decisions in this regard. I imagine it will be drastic decisions or that they have to adapt to the economic situation of the club. The legacy we have received is disastrous, it is a reality. Redirecting this economic situation still takes time. We have a number of options, but there are no great ones, because they all involve either selling TV rights or stakes in the companies that develop the club's business lines. In addition, we have a double perverse reality, which is the criterion of the professional football league [LaLiga]. It is implausible how he reacts to a situation like that of a club like Bar?a, which is in need of generating income. However, even if we generated certain income, LaLiga's criteria would not allow us to have salary margins. We respect the rules, but we understand that they are strict and are a comparative grievance with other countries. We're talking to LaLiga about these issues, but we're seeing a very tight position. Short and short: according to LaLiga, neither depositing 600 million euros could have salary margin. If we do an operation between these options that we have to generate income, they would still put us in trouble. The latest news we have is these. It is difficult to live with these restrictive and strict criteria set by the professional football league.
Let's talk about names: Demb?l?. How's the issue right now?
They have our proposal and a date to make a statement, because there is no more room. We're preparing for next season a long time ago and it's an issue we've got stuck on, because the agent doesn't respond to the offer. Looks like they're doing a counter-proposal. There's a priority right now, which is to straighten out the economy to have fair play. There are a lot of players who have appearances and operations that are pending and LaLiga doesn't open up to give it to us. The criterion that follows is very restrictive.
What are they going to do if LaLiga doesn't open up?
Keep arguing and trying to convince them that we have to have fair play, because we can't sign anyone for next season. There are operations that are already done, but LaLiga follows a very restrictive criterion and urges an operation that they want us to do and that would generate a minimum fair play. But we wouldn't fix much either. It means selling 10% of the TV rights, and we're trying to make that, if it happens, in the best conditions. Not in conditions that do not compensate.
It refers to CVC.
Yes.
On Monday he was in Madrid, talking to LaLiga. Have they made progress?
Very little. They must already know what they're doing... We think that if this operation is carried out, Bar?a must be accounted for. Otherwise, it's not worth doing. There are operations we are considering to improve accounts and LaLiga, instead of helping, is trying to harm us. I'm very surprised.
What day should fair play be resolved?
It could be resolved during the summer market, depending on the solution we choose. What interests us is before June 30 to have it resolved because we are also waiting to close the accounts this year.
Does the renewal of Sergi Roberto, which is imminent, also depend on fair play?
It all affects. All of this will be announced as we can have fair play. Sergi Roberto is a player that the coach wants, who considers that he understands the system perfectly, because he has been playing in the house for many years, and the coach says it helps him to have players like that. He has always had a full commitment to the club. We plan to renew it, but we also have the fair play that is blocking us.
What about Gavi's renewal?
His representative has long had the renewal offer on the table. We don't have any news that he's accepted. The news we have is that he is comparing and that at some point he will have to say something. We have already said our position and, at the moment, it is not accepted by the player's agent.
The grief I'm comparing?
yes, because we don't understand. He is a player that we all like; he is 17 years old, a magnificent present and future at Barca, and we do not understand why his representative is playing and comparing. I think the club's proposal, within our salary levels, is more than acceptable. In addition, we will not leave these levels, because I do not want Bar?a to continue in the line that followed those that preceded us and that have brought Bar?a to ruin. We have to put criteria into it, and that's what we're doing. If we have players coming out of the squad, we make them a very good present and future offer and it turns out that their representative is comparing and delaying the decision; it's understandable that I don't like the situation. I would encourage him to accept it as soon as possible, because it also helps us plan.
More names; Ferran Torres. It has been the great investment of the latter market (55 million). How do you rate your first half season?
In the area of salary it is where it corresponds. He is a player who, apart from having a great technical quality, has been selected and has a track record. We're very happy with him. It must be understood that adapting to the Bar?a system takes some time and I think when Pedri has played he has performed more. It's obvious. When there's a working team manager, it makes the strikers roar. Pedri is a midfielder who comes in and has a goal and helps the attackers. And I think Ferran's game was in good tune with Pedri's. These are no excuses, but these are situations that have occurred. We've had injured players who were performing well. First Ansu and now Pedri. Ferran has a long history at Bar?a and we are very happy with his attitude and quality.
Adama Traor? also arrived in winter. You have a purchase option of 30 million euros and you told the filing that you would like to make it. Will it be carried out?
We're happy with him, too. He's given the team another air, there's nothing to recriminate. I'm back to the fair-play theme. It is a high purchase option and, in addition, the market is moving and we have the situation of Trincao that is very reciprocal because they come to be the same amounts. We'll see what happens. The market is moving and there is interest in these players and we will have to assess the fair-play factor.
What is the future of Dani Alves?
These are technical decisions that both the technical secretary and the coach will eventually make. We are delighted with the performance, the atmosphere it has created and how it has helped young people. We are grateful for what he has contributed to the club and now there are sporting circumstances that must value the player, the coach and the technical secretary. Dani's goal is to play in the World Cup. If with the forecast we are doing for next season it has no minutes, it can see its presence hurt. The technicians have to assess it.
Speaking of Alves he has a friend, Neymar, and Xavi, the other day, he said he likes it. Do you like Neymar?
Who doesn't like Neymar? He's an exceptional player.
PSG may now open the door for him...
He has a contract with PSG, he has four or five years left. These players who have signed for clubs like PSG have almost signed their slavery. For money.
Messi, too?
Messi went the way it went. We would all have wanted him to end his sporting life here and for whatever reason he couldn't have been. It could not have been for the fair play of the Spanish league and for PSG's proposal. These players when they enter a dynamic like this find that they cannot leave because the operations are many millions of euros. You'll tell me, in Neymar's case. I don't know how they're going to do it in France, because maybe they have other systems that we don't have here, but cancelling a system that's signed in advance costs a lot of money. It is also true that PSG have a state behind them, they have a lot of money and maybe they can make a prepayment to terminate such a contract.
Should Neymar come free?
All these players to return to Barcelona one day should come free. We are not in a position to make a purchase of what a transfer of these players might cost. But even if we had the money, we would. It would be irrational. If they are players who are free and are on the market, then they are of exceptional quality and that Bar?a have already enjoyed. Then it would be a question of the coach thinking whether or not they can fit into Bar?a's new project. As players, I both like them a lot.
And for Lewandowski, could an investment be made?
Lewandowski has one more year left on his Bayern contract and that is the situation. And that's it, I can't say anything else.
But he's taken some steps, like saying he's already played his last game...
Let everyone work. We have to respect that he has a year left on his Bayern contract. He's a very quality player, we really like him as well, but he's under contract.
One of the first movements in this market is that of Mbapp?. How do you appreciate that he's renewed for PSG?
This distorts the market. Players end up being hijacked for the money. These are the effects of a club having a state behind it. This goes against all the principles of the European Union. It is a reflection on the sustainability of football in Europe. Then there is the reading that can be done from Bar?a. There is a direct opponent that does not come out stronger and we prefer that we can not do the guarantion when it comes to competing. But I'm left with a reflection on the sustainability of football. Because I don't think we should worry so much about an opponent either. We have to worry about having a competitive team, which is what we're trying to do. It has been seen that when we have worried more about us than rivals, things have gone well.
Luftstalag14
Culé de Celestial Empire
Continued....
What is the degree of animosity you have with respect to Real Madrid and PSG?
We have to worry about Barca. What others do is their problem. We have to make sure that no illegalities are made and the market is distorted by the clubs-state and it is very clear which ones are: we have PSG, Manchester City and those who will come. This makes it more difficult to manage a club like ours that is owned by members.
And how is this solved?
That the rules are complied with, that there is a harmonisation in the financial fair-play, that there are no grace periods with some countries while here we cannot have enough fair play to carry out operations even if we generate income. They say to me, "You have the inheritance you have and it's not the fault of all this." Well, inheritance is the fault of those who managed the club, but even so, if more flexible measures are taken in other countries they should also be adopted here. And that's not the case. The solution is to make the league much more flexible on fair-play issues and that these clubs do not have the privileges they have on the part of UEFA. They allow them to do things that are not admissible and that others do not.
What is the Bar?a-UEFA relationship at the moment?
It's cold. We think the Champions League is improved in terms of resources for clubs and making it more attractive. The idea that we have the clubs that defend a Super League is to sit down and find solutions to all this. And real solutions, don't keep disguising the story. Because the clubs, who are the ones investing in this show, we have to govern. There is a governance problem and I think we can agree with UEFA. Clubs need to govern the high competition. UEFA also has something to say, of course. And we also have to talk about the distribution of money. It's a business that costs a lot of money to keep it at the elite level and if that doesn't happen, there are clubs that have a tradition that we're getting very hurt.
Are you worried about a possible sanction, along with Juventus and Real Madrid?
Honestly, I don't think they're in a position to make any penalties. The clubs are defending the principles of the European Union: free competition and Europeanism. We want football in Europe to be sustainable and there are no external agents, from countries with Russian or Arab oligarchs, to distort this market. This is being defended and I don't think UEFA is in a position to sanction clubs that are defending these principles. We have received registration for the next Champions League. They don't want to attack free competition. And if they do, they will receive a boomerang effect because they will eventually prevail in the principles of the EU.
Did he meet Aleksander Ceferin in Turin?
yes, but it wasn't a place to talk about these issues. The deal is correct and we made some comments, but they were not focused on analysing this conflict. I think they know that what we're raising is logical. They want to maintain a power they should share. When they talk about dialogue, we want to establish it. When a part does not want to talk and closes in band, the dialogue does not occur.
The economy is delicate. Are they going to sell assets from the workforce? Frenkie de Jong is a recurring name.
Now the market is starting to move and we also have players who have offers. They have offers because they are high quality players and we have to leave in some way that everything flows a little bit and be very attentive to what fair play we have to make according to what decisions. Right now, everything is open. The truth is that there are players whom we have renewed and who have a present and future, and these obviously we want them to continue in our ranks. And others that also have a high quality, but have a market, also have proposals, and in this case it will depend a lot on the issue of fair play.
In the latter group he describes, Frenkie de Jong fits precisely.
I'm talking about first-team players from Barcelona and there are a lot of them who have great quality. Frenkie has great quality; he knows our system and, yes, he is a coveted player in the market and proposals have come to us, but we think he must continue at Bar?a.
I used to talk about drastic decisions. Can there be any surprises in the form of an exit?
When I talk about drastic decisions, I mean the issue of fair play. We have a very high salary mass that still doesn't allow us to have fair play. And here we will have to make a decision. Maybe we're going to have to throw in the right and we're going to have to reduce the wage mass in a way that's not what we'd like, even if it's taking some risks. We have a still very high salary cap, inherited from those who managed the club before, bad by the way, and that is very difficult to redirect in a peaceful way. Perhaps we have to go to a more drastic and more conflictive way in order to have financial fair play, because what we do not want is that a team that we think must be strengthened to be more competitive and be able to aspire to everything that Bar?a must aspire to because it is limited by the issue of financial fair play and by a sporting salary mass that we have at 40% higher than the rest. of the teams and that, in addition to being a disastrous legacy that has come to us due to the mismanagement of the previous managers of the club, we find that we cannot reinforce. The drastic measures, which I wish I didn't have to take, would be better taken.
Without fair play, they can't sign. It's a fish that bites its tail.
The first season we did what we could and now the second season is coming, and what we can't do is be with that anxiety that has us blocked. Decisions will have to be made. And if we have to go to court, we're going to go, because there comes a time when we're locked up. Both the regulations and the inheritance we have blocked us. And we have to make some decisions. Hopefully it's not drastic.
That inheritance, didn't they expect that would be the case before he joined the club?
Do you know what's going on? That until you go in, you don't have confirmation of how all this is. We expected it not to be that bad. There has been a deferral of wages, but we are not talking about salaries that can be settled, they are very high wages. These are salaries that we no longer do at the club and I don't think they are done even in the football market. For confidentiality, out of respect for privacy it is not the time to go by saying names, but they are very high salaries that are not paid in the market and that unfortunately, due to a erroneous decision of the previous managers, we have found it now and there are still two years left. We're going to have to cut that somehow. And it is usually through consensus, through the agreement, but I also understand that the other parties that may exist in this conflict say that they have a signed contract that must be fulfilled.
Should "levers," as these operations are being called to deposit money, be closed by June 30?
We could have activated some of them. But I tell him: we have to find the best solution in Bar?a's interest. And none of these options is perfect. We are looking for the one that eliminates our own negative funds, that at the same time allows us to make a profit this season and that also gives us fair play. If we're going to have to do it in phases, maybe we can't do it all before June 30th. We're working on it.
One of the transactions that has been talked about lately is the option to sell 30% of the audiovisual rights to Goldman Sachs.
That's not true. Look, there are several options, we can call it levers. We have the option to sell television rights. We would like them to be at most 10% of television rights, as much capital as possible. If we make some quick numbers we see that we pay 165 million fixed TV rights for the league, then let's say that for UEFA and bonus we reach 260. There are 165 million people who guarantee tv rights. 10% of these 165, are 16.5 million, and there are options such as CVC that is 50 years old, other options 20 years and others 10 years. What's wrong with us here? That all these amounts that they pay us, they are taxed, therefore we can already reduce by 25% the money that will be invested by whoever buys the TV rights. From there, depending on the amount, we liquidate negative equity, in whole or in part, and from having liquidated all this, 10% of the television rights have been released; the rest, 90%, are guaranteed goldman sachs' credit with Bar?a. Therefore it would be a credit that should be repaid in advance and this also comes at a cost. There are several factors that we must take into account, and it is not so simple. Liquidating a loan like that of Goldman Sachs, which we are talking about the order of 595 million euros, also has an early settlement penalty. This can be negotiated, OK, but by liquidating this credit, we would have very little left.
And what are your options?
We have options for important figures but when it comes to truth we also have to value something else. Whoever pays you $1 billion for tv rights, wants 100% of the TV rights and maybe we could have a ten-year option. But this option if you make numbers you come to the conclusion that it hurts your profit and loss account in the coming years. If it is ten years, of the next ten years, because they are -165 million euros that you will pay each year because they are 100% of the tv rights fixed. The increase in TV rights should also be assessed in the coming years because if Netflix, Amazon, Disney... a whole series of companies this will cause a significant increase. One of the negotiations that is being done is to try to cap the increase so that it is not so negative for us, that at least the increase in these rights is left by the club. Another formula that is obviously less money, but there is less percentage of TV rights left, 22%, and they do so in 20 years. In this operation, all the aspects that we have to consider – liquidating negative equity, knowing what cash we have left and seeing how it impacts the profit and loss account for the coming years – may still be better than what we want as a 100% operation of television rights.
And finally, the CVC option.
Then there is another that is CVC, with 270 million euros, for 10% of the television rights to 50 years. It's many years and here we should try to fine-tune this operation so that it gets more interesting at the club. To capture the increase in television rights, that do not force us to make this sale of 10% of the television rights block us the remaining 90% of rights. And after he gives us as much fair play as possible. The factors we are taking into account at the moment is reducing our own negative fund, giving us fair play, that there is cash that can allow the club to make the investments it has to make and that impacts as much negatively as possible in the profit and loss account for the coming years.
But with CVC they don't get away with it.
CVC is an operation that we have been improving. But in terms of fair play, our surprise is that it turns out very little. We have to put in the balance if it comes to us to sell 10% of the TV rights for 270 million and 50 years. If I have said before that we pay 165, then we only have to take 16.5, which would be this 10%, and multiply it for 50 years... Many more millions (825) come out. The operation, for CVC and LaLiga, is magnificent, but Bar?a, if it does not give it enough fair play, does not come to mind either.
Let's talk about the feminine now. How did you see the team in Turin?
It was a shame. But I think we've played a very decent role this season. Very good. What I would like is for the Spanish league to be more competitive, because I think the consequence that is not very it led us to make a final in which, although it is true that we exhibited a lot of technical quality, perhaps we lacked the strength that Olympique de Lyon showed. How is this acquired? Enhancing the Spanish league. In Europe we have been able to compete and we have gone with our heads high and right, and we can proudly say that they are giving the club a lot of joy and that they are a very important part of the club, increasingly. The proof is the success he had in the matches against Madrid and Wolfsburg at the Camp Nou. We have to work to improve, from humility, and that this causes us an inner strength to be better, that we do not believe that we have done everything. Last year we won the Champions League; this year it could not be and I encourage them because they are the pride of the club, the city and the country and that has a lot of merit. This burden they have of being a social reference is also good and also helps them to be better and seek excellence, but we still lack. I am sure, as they say, that next year we will play again in the Champions League final and this time we will win it. It's been a great season. We've won the league and now we're hoping to win the Queen's Cup.
Do you have growth plans?
We are evaluating, in one of the buildings there, to make the female farmhouse, now it is mixed. We have a firm commitment to women's Bar?a. Not only to give it the corresponding projection in the media field, but also in the field of training. We also want to have a farmhouse or structure of young players who have the possibility of reaching the first team and that is why we are working with trainers, trainers and professionals that allow us to be a club that generators players. Let's start being.
In basketball there has been the disillusionment of the 'final four'.
There had been talk of a pay cut with Mirotic.
We have to thank Mirotic precisely for what he brings to the team, because he did a game. The pity is we couldn't win. Obviously we're disappointed, because it didn't go the way we wanted. The final has been reached, we were third, we won the Olympiacos and now to see in the league how the play-offs are going. Here they have to show that they had the quality and ability to be European champions and it couldn't be, but at least now we have to concentrate on the league and then we will assess it all. I want to see how the season ends.
It is expected that the course will end.
It is a section that is the second in importance. In terms of budget and monitoring within the club and we want results. The final four is great to get there but it didn't go the way we wanted. We have to trust them and trust that we will win the league.
And in the rest of the sections, what assessment does it make of the season as a whole?
In handball the league has been won, the cup has been won and now we will see if in the final four of Cologne we get away with it. It is not easy, because we are the four best teams in Europe, by a lot. A very good season has been made in handball, also in futsal; we're in the playoffs now. In hockey, beyond this unofficial European Cup that was played, the rest of us have won it, and we plan to make new additions that will also help the team a lot.
What is the degree of animosity you have with respect to Real Madrid and PSG?
We have to worry about Barca. What others do is their problem. We have to make sure that no illegalities are made and the market is distorted by the clubs-state and it is very clear which ones are: we have PSG, Manchester City and those who will come. This makes it more difficult to manage a club like ours that is owned by members.
And how is this solved?
That the rules are complied with, that there is a harmonisation in the financial fair-play, that there are no grace periods with some countries while here we cannot have enough fair play to carry out operations even if we generate income. They say to me, "You have the inheritance you have and it's not the fault of all this." Well, inheritance is the fault of those who managed the club, but even so, if more flexible measures are taken in other countries they should also be adopted here. And that's not the case. The solution is to make the league much more flexible on fair-play issues and that these clubs do not have the privileges they have on the part of UEFA. They allow them to do things that are not admissible and that others do not.
What is the Bar?a-UEFA relationship at the moment?
It's cold. We think the Champions League is improved in terms of resources for clubs and making it more attractive. The idea that we have the clubs that defend a Super League is to sit down and find solutions to all this. And real solutions, don't keep disguising the story. Because the clubs, who are the ones investing in this show, we have to govern. There is a governance problem and I think we can agree with UEFA. Clubs need to govern the high competition. UEFA also has something to say, of course. And we also have to talk about the distribution of money. It's a business that costs a lot of money to keep it at the elite level and if that doesn't happen, there are clubs that have a tradition that we're getting very hurt.
Are you worried about a possible sanction, along with Juventus and Real Madrid?
Honestly, I don't think they're in a position to make any penalties. The clubs are defending the principles of the European Union: free competition and Europeanism. We want football in Europe to be sustainable and there are no external agents, from countries with Russian or Arab oligarchs, to distort this market. This is being defended and I don't think UEFA is in a position to sanction clubs that are defending these principles. We have received registration for the next Champions League. They don't want to attack free competition. And if they do, they will receive a boomerang effect because they will eventually prevail in the principles of the EU.
Did he meet Aleksander Ceferin in Turin?
yes, but it wasn't a place to talk about these issues. The deal is correct and we made some comments, but they were not focused on analysing this conflict. I think they know that what we're raising is logical. They want to maintain a power they should share. When they talk about dialogue, we want to establish it. When a part does not want to talk and closes in band, the dialogue does not occur.
The economy is delicate. Are they going to sell assets from the workforce? Frenkie de Jong is a recurring name.
Now the market is starting to move and we also have players who have offers. They have offers because they are high quality players and we have to leave in some way that everything flows a little bit and be very attentive to what fair play we have to make according to what decisions. Right now, everything is open. The truth is that there are players whom we have renewed and who have a present and future, and these obviously we want them to continue in our ranks. And others that also have a high quality, but have a market, also have proposals, and in this case it will depend a lot on the issue of fair play.
In the latter group he describes, Frenkie de Jong fits precisely.
I'm talking about first-team players from Barcelona and there are a lot of them who have great quality. Frenkie has great quality; he knows our system and, yes, he is a coveted player in the market and proposals have come to us, but we think he must continue at Bar?a.
I used to talk about drastic decisions. Can there be any surprises in the form of an exit?
When I talk about drastic decisions, I mean the issue of fair play. We have a very high salary mass that still doesn't allow us to have fair play. And here we will have to make a decision. Maybe we're going to have to throw in the right and we're going to have to reduce the wage mass in a way that's not what we'd like, even if it's taking some risks. We have a still very high salary cap, inherited from those who managed the club before, bad by the way, and that is very difficult to redirect in a peaceful way. Perhaps we have to go to a more drastic and more conflictive way in order to have financial fair play, because what we do not want is that a team that we think must be strengthened to be more competitive and be able to aspire to everything that Bar?a must aspire to because it is limited by the issue of financial fair play and by a sporting salary mass that we have at 40% higher than the rest. of the teams and that, in addition to being a disastrous legacy that has come to us due to the mismanagement of the previous managers of the club, we find that we cannot reinforce. The drastic measures, which I wish I didn't have to take, would be better taken.
Without fair play, they can't sign. It's a fish that bites its tail.
The first season we did what we could and now the second season is coming, and what we can't do is be with that anxiety that has us blocked. Decisions will have to be made. And if we have to go to court, we're going to go, because there comes a time when we're locked up. Both the regulations and the inheritance we have blocked us. And we have to make some decisions. Hopefully it's not drastic.
That inheritance, didn't they expect that would be the case before he joined the club?
Do you know what's going on? That until you go in, you don't have confirmation of how all this is. We expected it not to be that bad. There has been a deferral of wages, but we are not talking about salaries that can be settled, they are very high wages. These are salaries that we no longer do at the club and I don't think they are done even in the football market. For confidentiality, out of respect for privacy it is not the time to go by saying names, but they are very high salaries that are not paid in the market and that unfortunately, due to a erroneous decision of the previous managers, we have found it now and there are still two years left. We're going to have to cut that somehow. And it is usually through consensus, through the agreement, but I also understand that the other parties that may exist in this conflict say that they have a signed contract that must be fulfilled.
Should "levers," as these operations are being called to deposit money, be closed by June 30?
We could have activated some of them. But I tell him: we have to find the best solution in Bar?a's interest. And none of these options is perfect. We are looking for the one that eliminates our own negative funds, that at the same time allows us to make a profit this season and that also gives us fair play. If we're going to have to do it in phases, maybe we can't do it all before June 30th. We're working on it.
One of the transactions that has been talked about lately is the option to sell 30% of the audiovisual rights to Goldman Sachs.
That's not true. Look, there are several options, we can call it levers. We have the option to sell television rights. We would like them to be at most 10% of television rights, as much capital as possible. If we make some quick numbers we see that we pay 165 million fixed TV rights for the league, then let's say that for UEFA and bonus we reach 260. There are 165 million people who guarantee tv rights. 10% of these 165, are 16.5 million, and there are options such as CVC that is 50 years old, other options 20 years and others 10 years. What's wrong with us here? That all these amounts that they pay us, they are taxed, therefore we can already reduce by 25% the money that will be invested by whoever buys the TV rights. From there, depending on the amount, we liquidate negative equity, in whole or in part, and from having liquidated all this, 10% of the television rights have been released; the rest, 90%, are guaranteed goldman sachs' credit with Bar?a. Therefore it would be a credit that should be repaid in advance and this also comes at a cost. There are several factors that we must take into account, and it is not so simple. Liquidating a loan like that of Goldman Sachs, which we are talking about the order of 595 million euros, also has an early settlement penalty. This can be negotiated, OK, but by liquidating this credit, we would have very little left.
And what are your options?
We have options for important figures but when it comes to truth we also have to value something else. Whoever pays you $1 billion for tv rights, wants 100% of the TV rights and maybe we could have a ten-year option. But this option if you make numbers you come to the conclusion that it hurts your profit and loss account in the coming years. If it is ten years, of the next ten years, because they are -165 million euros that you will pay each year because they are 100% of the tv rights fixed. The increase in TV rights should also be assessed in the coming years because if Netflix, Amazon, Disney... a whole series of companies this will cause a significant increase. One of the negotiations that is being done is to try to cap the increase so that it is not so negative for us, that at least the increase in these rights is left by the club. Another formula that is obviously less money, but there is less percentage of TV rights left, 22%, and they do so in 20 years. In this operation, all the aspects that we have to consider – liquidating negative equity, knowing what cash we have left and seeing how it impacts the profit and loss account for the coming years – may still be better than what we want as a 100% operation of television rights.
And finally, the CVC option.
Then there is another that is CVC, with 270 million euros, for 10% of the television rights to 50 years. It's many years and here we should try to fine-tune this operation so that it gets more interesting at the club. To capture the increase in television rights, that do not force us to make this sale of 10% of the television rights block us the remaining 90% of rights. And after he gives us as much fair play as possible. The factors we are taking into account at the moment is reducing our own negative fund, giving us fair play, that there is cash that can allow the club to make the investments it has to make and that impacts as much negatively as possible in the profit and loss account for the coming years.
But with CVC they don't get away with it.
CVC is an operation that we have been improving. But in terms of fair play, our surprise is that it turns out very little. We have to put in the balance if it comes to us to sell 10% of the TV rights for 270 million and 50 years. If I have said before that we pay 165, then we only have to take 16.5, which would be this 10%, and multiply it for 50 years... Many more millions (825) come out. The operation, for CVC and LaLiga, is magnificent, but Bar?a, if it does not give it enough fair play, does not come to mind either.
Let's talk about the feminine now. How did you see the team in Turin?
It was a shame. But I think we've played a very decent role this season. Very good. What I would like is for the Spanish league to be more competitive, because I think the consequence that is not very it led us to make a final in which, although it is true that we exhibited a lot of technical quality, perhaps we lacked the strength that Olympique de Lyon showed. How is this acquired? Enhancing the Spanish league. In Europe we have been able to compete and we have gone with our heads high and right, and we can proudly say that they are giving the club a lot of joy and that they are a very important part of the club, increasingly. The proof is the success he had in the matches against Madrid and Wolfsburg at the Camp Nou. We have to work to improve, from humility, and that this causes us an inner strength to be better, that we do not believe that we have done everything. Last year we won the Champions League; this year it could not be and I encourage them because they are the pride of the club, the city and the country and that has a lot of merit. This burden they have of being a social reference is also good and also helps them to be better and seek excellence, but we still lack. I am sure, as they say, that next year we will play again in the Champions League final and this time we will win it. It's been a great season. We've won the league and now we're hoping to win the Queen's Cup.
Do you have growth plans?
We are evaluating, in one of the buildings there, to make the female farmhouse, now it is mixed. We have a firm commitment to women's Bar?a. Not only to give it the corresponding projection in the media field, but also in the field of training. We also want to have a farmhouse or structure of young players who have the possibility of reaching the first team and that is why we are working with trainers, trainers and professionals that allow us to be a club that generators players. Let's start being.
In basketball there has been the disillusionment of the 'final four'.
There had been talk of a pay cut with Mirotic.
We have to thank Mirotic precisely for what he brings to the team, because he did a game. The pity is we couldn't win. Obviously we're disappointed, because it didn't go the way we wanted. The final has been reached, we were third, we won the Olympiacos and now to see in the league how the play-offs are going. Here they have to show that they had the quality and ability to be European champions and it couldn't be, but at least now we have to concentrate on the league and then we will assess it all. I want to see how the season ends.
It is expected that the course will end.
It is a section that is the second in importance. In terms of budget and monitoring within the club and we want results. The final four is great to get there but it didn't go the way we wanted. We have to trust them and trust that we will win the league.
And in the rest of the sections, what assessment does it make of the season as a whole?
In handball the league has been won, the cup has been won and now we will see if in the final four of Cologne we get away with it. It is not easy, because we are the four best teams in Europe, by a lot. A very good season has been made in handball, also in futsal; we're in the playoffs now. In hockey, beyond this unofficial European Cup that was played, the rest of us have won it, and we plan to make new additions that will also help the team a lot.
Home of Barca Fans
