Laporta: “I spoke to a player behind PSG and he's sunk”

The candidate for the presidency of FC Barcelona Joan Laporta has indicated that after the defeat against PSG (1-4) in the 'Champions' he spoke with Gerard Piqué, one of the captains, and saw him “sunk and pissed off“So he wants, if he is president again, to be with the players again and support them to regain the” winning mentality. “

“I spoke with a player from the first team after the game. He was down, pissed off, but he was precisely the one who set an example by wanting to play out of injury. As culé that is, it was sunk “, manifested after the act.

Therefore, he wants to be next to the players and support them. “We cannot leave them alone, we will be by their side and help them regain the winning mentality,” he appealed.

“We have to fight but we also have to know how to be in defeat. We have to be with the players. We have to regain the winning mentality, I ask the team. That they do not collapse in an adverse situation. And that they fight,” he asked the players.

Laporta believes that the title options are closer in LaLiga Santander than in the Cup or the 'Champions', but he asks the group for commitment and above all “dignity”. “The Cup has to be played, in LaLiga Atlético will go through difficulties. That they maintain their dignity and regain the winning mentality, so we will never leave them alone, which today they are, “he lamented.

And, facing the Champions League, he asks that another historic comeback be sought. “You have to go to Paris to maintain dignity. We already made a comeback, this would be even more difficult, but you have to go. The other day they were superior, but we have epic moments in our history, which led us to glory. I ask go calmly to Paris and maintain dignity, in the spirit of a historic comeback, “he said.

On a personal level, he acknowledged being “angry” with the defeat at the Camp Nou against PSG of Kylian Mbappé, author of a hat-trick. “The other day I was angry, with a huge disappointment, thinking of going to sleep and letting the hours pass. But the message is clear; you have to be with the players, “he reiterated.

In addition, he remains firm in fighting to retain Leo Messi despite the economic difficulties that may arise. “The competitors are 'state clubs' and they have their way of skipping the 'financial fair play'. Leo will receive great offers, they will pay him more, and it will be difficult to compete with them, but I will try to convince him,” he said.

Laporta wants to put La Masia in the center of the sections

The presentation of the project for the sections of the candidacy of Joan Laporta began evoking the past, triumphant, that the current candidate led. The music was no accidentLong Live the Coldplay Life) or the projected image: a photo of Piqué, Xavi, Puyol and Bojan cheering for the basketball team in the Final Four won in Paris in 2010. A past that Laporta's candidacy wants him to return, and that he verbalized in his first speech: “We will do it again,” he said.

Overcome nostalgia and sentimentality about what Barça was and means, Rafa Yuste He was in charge of shelving the program that Laporta's candidacy has for the sections of the club, four professionals and eight amateurs. And the central axis is the Masia. Laporta's will is to export the 'Barça model' of football to the rest of the sections. Also improve economically so that the sections are profitable. Your proposal goes through individual sponsors for each section, in addition to getting a sponsor for the name of the Palau.

The main idea, transversal to all sports, is to promote the quarry. The plan is to combine local talent, players trained at home, with the top world stars. Something that, to this day, practically does not happen in any of the professional sections (basketball, handball, hockey and futsal). For this, from the candidacy of Laporta they bet for creating specific initiation schools for each of these sports, as well as increasing the number of players who live in the Masia. This must become “a center of sporting excellence” so that the path between the base and the professional team is more direct.

In addition, they promised an improvement of all the aspects that affect the base teams: residences, trips, schedules, tracks… In this direction, they propose the creation of the Athlete Service Office to accompany the players at all times while they're in the club. Finally, they committed (without a date and making it clear that it would be 'progressively') to incorporate a women's section in all sports.