MADRID, 29 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The president of FC Barcelona, ??Joan Laporta, made it clear that Frenkie de Jong “is a player” of the Catalan team, that “he wants him to stay”, just like the Dutch midfielder, so he believes that the two parties will do “everything possible ” to continue united, while he was very happy about the signings they are making and that may be “causing concern” in their rivals.
“He is a Barça player, the club wants him to stay and he wants to stay. He has important offers to leave, but he still wants to stay, another thing is the internal conversations that we have because there is a new salary structure that we have designed and that we want to apply “, Laporta told the media after an act this Thursday of the club together with ACNUR in New York.
The leader recalled that they are talking to the players “with inherited contracts, understand the reality of the club as far as possible” about how the accounts have been found, with a “salary mass 40 percent higher” than that of their main rivals .
“We have to make this effort in a continuous and progressive way. We try to talk to the players and create a good atmosphere in the squad and we will do everything possible so that De Jong stays and I hope that he does everything possible to stay”, he sentenced on the midfield player.
Laporta valued the transfer market in a “very positive” way. “I am very satisfied with how things are going and I am happy with the work of Mateu Alemany, Jordi Cruyff and their team, and with the decisions we are taking to strengthen our squad and make a very competitive team that can participate in all competitions with the intention of winning them,” he stressed.
The Barça president avoided talking about players who “have a contract with other clubs” such as César Azpilicueta or Marcos Alonso, and stressed that they are “trying to comply with the coach’s wishes.” “We have reinforced the three lines and I am not saying that there is not another incorporation, depending on how the player registration procedure goes, we will see if we can do one, yes, it would reinforce the defensive line”, he pointed out.
“I have the feeling that we are working well and that the players want to come to Barca again, and that is a very good feeling, that we are making a well-balanced team with a lot of competition, with a minimum of two players per position” , added the Blaugrana leader.
Laporta replied to the Bayern coach, Julian Nagelsmann, who had shown his surprise at the activity in the market of the Catalan team despite their theoretically delicate financial situation. “I would ask you to focus on the Bayern accounts, which have received a significant amount of money for Lewandowski. I respect everyone and I will not talk about the finances of other teams,” he settled.
“Our competitors see that we are signing well and that the players want to come, and this can cause some concern. Kessie and Christensen have come free, then we have invested in Raphinha an amount that is sustainable within our economy and we can amortize it well with conditions agreed, as with Lewandowski, who has cost his due because he had other superior offers. But everyone is excited to come to this new project and salaries are adjusted to the new dimension we have, “explained Laporta.
In this sense, he believes that many people did not consider “the strength of Barça and the momentum of this new board.” “For those who are surprised, I would say that we are very much alive, back in the market and there may be more surprises,” he warned, stressing that the sale of his television rights to ‘Sixth Street’ has “really strengthened” them, even if there had been ” preferred not to sell them”
Finally, he insisted that he has the “aspiration as president” to get Leo Messi back to the club to retire. “I consider myself co-responsible for an ending that I see as provisional. His story at Barça did not end as we all wanted, conditioned by economic reasons, and we have a moral debt with him,” he said.
