Speaking in an interview with TUDN (h/t Mundo Deportivo), Barcelona president Joan Laporta has given an insight into the club’s objectives for the upcoming season as well as the direction that he wants the club to head in amidst a difficult financial situation.
Laporta was re-elected as president in March 2021, at a time when the club were in a state of financial turmoil. And it has not been a bed of roses for the Barça supremo who has had to make some tough decisions, none bigger than letting go of Lionel Messi.
But, things are looking up for the Catalans as they won the La Liga title and the Spanish Super Cup last season and even though they are not completely out of trouble yet, Laporta is optimistic about the future.
Comparing the club’s current situation to the one back in 2003, when he first took over the reins of the club, Laporta said:
“In 2003 we were in a moment of maximum difficulty, we had a deficit and a significant debt, now we have also had it, and perhaps, with the passage of time, 20 years, the magnitudes are much greater although conceptually it is the same.
“But to the difficulties we have to add the financial ‘fair play’, as they are rules interpreted and dictated by LaLiga, it generates a certain complexity when managing the club but we have to adapt and we are doing so.”
Talking about the club’s sporting situation, Laporta added: “We are at a key moment, which is the turning point. Because once the club has been saved, we have a team that is competing again, we have set ourselves the priority objective of La Liga, of maximum consistency.
“We continue to compete, we have won La Liga, we want to continue to be dominant in La Liga and take another step towards being more competitive in competitions such as the Champions League, which is always important,” Laporta added, highlighting the objectives for the team for the future.
