“Credibility and enthusiasm have returned”
BARCELONA, 7 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The president of FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta, confirmed this Thursday that there is a formal offer from the Blaugrana club for Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, and that they expect a response from the Bavarians and that it be positive to be able to sign the Polish international, whom he thanked for the gesture of showing interest in Barça.
“We respect Bayern, you know that we have made an offer for the player and we expect a response, and that it is positive. We thank the player for showing interest in us,” he assured at a press conference.
In this sense, he did not give importance to the opinion of a journalist, in a relaxed tone, that Bayern would want to deposit the money from the operation in cash in case Barça disappeared in one or two years. “I don’t believe that information, I think it came from a podcast and as a joke. It didn’t come from Bayern. We are going to celebrate our 125th anniversary, there are few clubs with such a splendid history,” Laporta defended.
For now, the president has presented Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen this week, two players who meet the requests of the coach, Xavi Hernández. “I just spoke with Xavi and he has given me hope and desire for everything to start. He transmits very good feelings, we have hugged each other and we are waiting for everything to go as planned”, he predicted.
For Laporta, FC Barcelona “has credibility again”. “All operations have an added degree of difficulty due to the situation and inherited economic debt. We are in a process of repaying the debt and investing to make our teams more competitive,” he said.
“Competitors take advantage of this situation of maximum economic difficulty, but it is less and less true. This will end when we launch the first message to the market with a signing. All this will depend, as I have said, on the sale of 15% of the television rights,” he added.
He also believes that they have “the great luck” that the majority of players want to go to Barça. “Everyone considers it and is excited. Except for the players of our biggest rivals, all the players want to come here. We are very lucky. Because of our history and what we have achieved, we are an attractive club,” he reiterated.
“I am speaking in general, of great players who are in important clubs but, if they see an opportunity to continue their career at Barça, they consider it. We have this advantage. Credibility and enthusiasm have returned. And the proof is that players from the quality of Andreas Christensen want to make a dream come true despite being at a great club like Chelsea”, he elaborated and, later, detailed in the case of Christensen.
The Danish center-back will arrive to reinforce a defense in which captain Gerard Piqué will continue to be. “Gerard is very clear that he wants to have a very good season, he let me know. And on a personal level I see him looking forward to it. Then the coach must assess what to do on a technical level. But Gerard is very motivated with players who come to reinforce defense and will play the role of playing and helping incorporate them,” said the president.
For his part, Jordi Cruyff (member of the club’s sports structure) assured that, on the contrary, they are working on a possible departure of another central defender from the current squad, Frenchman Clément Lenglet. “It seems that we are close to Lenglet leaving, it will be announced when it is official,” he assured.
“We are convinced that if we manage to be able to be in the market, we will be able to fight for everything. I am convinced by the level of the players who want to come making economic sacrifices, which are many. Football is about templates, about having different types of players. There is a lot of talk about style and ‘cruyffism’, something I have heard about at home, but it is the balance that makes the game win, not having only eleven players”, Cruyff assessed about the squad they seek to have.