A year ago, Joan Laporta was elected head of FC Barcelona. The opportunity for the Catalan president to look back on the past year, marked in large part by the departure last summer of Lionel Messi, in an interview broadcast on Barça TV.
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| Joan Laporta acted in the interest of the club. [Abaca / Icon Sports] |
After more than 20 years at Barcelona, the Argentine was forced to leave the Blaugrana last August. A tear for the sevenfold Ballon d'Or appeared in tears during his farewell press conference before committing a few days later with Paris, where he signed a two-year contract plus an optional year. If the decision was difficult to make, Joan Laporta does not regret it.
“I don't regret the decision made with Messi. But it was the saddest decision of all. I never wanted to do it, but I'm not sorry either. I place the institution above everything, it is even above the coaches and the best player in the history of football. Reality has overtaken us,” said the Catalan president.
While Barça was in the grip of significant financial difficulties, and therefore unable to offer an extension to the native of Rosario at the end of the contract, the Barcelona manager acted in the interest of the club. “We put the institution above everything, we had to because of the situation we had inherited. No matter how much will there was, we ran into reality,” Laporta added.
And if he feared for the future, he appears more confident than ever for the future of FC Barcelona. “We thought that after he left there would be nothing, but Barca's story continues. With hard work and well-thought-out decisions, we can get back on the path to success,” he said.
And recent events tend to prove him right. After a complicated start to the season, with an elimination from the Champions League group stage, Barcelona have raised their heads since the appointment of Xavi on the bench in place of Ronald Koeman. Barça remains on eight straight games without defeat (6 wins, 2 draws) and has climbed to 3rd place in La Liga with 15 points behind Real Madrid and 7 points over Sevilla FC.