Joan Laporta, the president of Barcelona, offered her thoughts on Kylian Mbappe's formal five-year contract to join rival Real Madrid.
After his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired on Monday, Real Madrid confirmed that the Frenchman will join them on a free transfer for a period of five years. This put an end to the long-running dispute surrounding the long-awaited agreement, and the Champions League champion will now have one of its newest international stars.
In remarks made on television this Tuesday, Laporta stated: "As a Barcelona supporter, the news of Mbappe joining Real Madrid is not the best." Although they are free to do as they choose, I like the club's approach with Lamcia, which is to develop players who are ready for the first team and who can play both now and in the future. In this way, the players contribute to the statement, "We will be a very competitive team and on the field we will be ready to compete to win matches."
"I am optimistic by nature," he continued. In order to facilitate the registration of new participants, we are making an effort to abide by the (1-1) rule. This season, we are also excited to be going back to Camp Nou. We're coming back at the end of the year."
Laporta addressed the fallout from Xavi Hernandez's exit, stating: "He took over the team at a very difficult time, and he did a wonderful job." Since Xavi is a devoted Barcelona supporter, I agreed to accept his delayed resignation in January. However, at the conclusion of the season, Xavi expressed his desire to stay on. He said that he did believe in this team when I asked. Xavi modified the tone of his remarks and asked the sporting director for a few things. The vision shifted for me. This team needed a fresh boost, and I think we can accomplish more with it.
"We had the chance to bring Hansi Flick, who thinks he can win any other team with these players," he clarified. We had a good ending with Xavi, and he behaved properly in return. The club will always welcome him because he is an icon.
He made the following observation: "The hardest choice I had to make was to fire Xavi. It occurred to Koeman, Jordi Alba, Busquets, and Lionel Messi. I have to put the interests of the club first. All choices are made in this manner."
