[h=1]Sandro Rosell fields questions from the press[/h] Jordi Clos
06/13/2013 17:43
“Valdés' agent told our sporting director that the keeper intends to fulfill his contract and we’re very pleased he’s decided to do so," he said about Barça's keeper
“The decision that makes us most proud is standing by Tito and keeping him as manager when news of his illness became public”
“I’ve spoken to Messi’s family. They are very calm and we are too. We give them all our support and we have no doubt that they are completely innocent”
President Sandro Rosell held a press conference in the Auditorium 1899 this Thursday afternoon to talk about the 2012/13 season. After the conference, the FC Barcelona president fielded questions from the gathered reporters, here’s an overview of his answers:
Camp Nou
“We estimate that in two or three years we will be able to begin construction on a new stadium, a new Palau and a new campus.”
Tito Vilanova
“He’s doing well. We know that he’ll have to return to New York for a couple of weeks for routine check-ups. No doctor has said that he cannot continue to be a manager.”
“The decision that makes us most proud is standing by Tito and keeping him as manager when news of his illness became public.”
“Tito plays an absolute role in the team planning.”
Víctor Valdés
“His agent told our sporting director that the keeper intends to fulfill his contract and we’re very pleased he’s decided to do so. We are not looking for a new keeper for the upcoming season. We’ll look for a keeper in a year, when his contract is up.”
Éric Abidal
“I believe the Club has treated Abidal well and was able to distinguish between the two facets [of Abidal’s situation]. When he was ill we renewed his contract and when he was cured we treated him like a footballer, which is what they asked of us. The Club acted exquisitely well in both regards.”
Leo Messi
“I’ve spoken to Messi’s family. They are very calm and we are too. We give them all our support and we have no doubt that they are completely innocent.”
Joan Laporta
“I haven’t talked about ex-president Laporta in three years and I’ll continue to not talk about him for three more.”
Thiago Alcántara
“I hope Thiago follows in Xavi, Iniesta, and Sergio’s footsteps... Now they are recognised by the world. It took time for all of them to become regular starters, there’s a lot of competition. I would like it if he had the patience the others had.”
Neymar
“We don’t have any problems explaining the 57 million euros it cost [to sign the player], but we have some confidentiality clauses that we cannot break. If other parties want to explain, we have no problem if they do so.”
“Neymar’s signing was a sporting priority and he’s a footballer that excites Barcelonistas, as we saw when he was presented.”
Thiago Silva
“We know, given the difficulty of negotiating with a team that doesn’t want to sell, that the signing, if not impossible, is very difficult.”
“His salary is very high and it would break the salary structure of the team. We don’t know how much the player costs.”
[h=4]Technical secretary structure to remain intact[/h] Sandro Rosell also revealed the technical secretaries of the Club will also stay on next season: “Once the opinion of the boss was taken into account, Andoni Zubizarreta, it was decided that Albert Valentín, Narcís Julià, Albert Puig and Guillermo Amor will continue to be part of the structure of the Club.” On possible signings, Rosell said, “it depends on who leaves, but I estimate that we will sign one or two more players.”