Joan Laporta: "Confidence in Xavi is intact"

"El Clásico is a great opportunity to vindicate and redo"

BARCELONA, 14 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of FC Barcelona, ​​Joan Laporta, stressed that the Barça project "goes ahead" and the confidence in Xavi "is intact" after the stumble in the Champions League, where they need a miracle to go through the round, so they face El Clásico with the opportunity to "claim" and "remake" the draw against Inter.

"The project continues. Confidence with Xavi is intact. If there is a good result in El Clasico it helps a lot. Right now it is a great opportunity to claim and recover after the draw against Inter on Wednesday," he explained in an interview on the official media of the club.

Laporta was "hurt" by the likely elimination in the Champions League. "It's time to change our 'chip', in the League we are first, we continue with injuries, but we have very good players. A team that we must be aware of is in formation. The objective was clear from the start of the season, which is LaLiga. In ' Champions' we wanted to get through the first group stage and then see where we could go, but it was complicated," he said.

"We are not virtually eliminated, but it is not a question of hope, it is work on our part to win the two remaining games. I would put off the 'Champions' until the 26th because we have important games after El Clásico", added Laporta, who admitted "not expect" at this point in the season to be more than a foot and a half out of the top continental competition.

In this line, he referred to the arbitration in Milan. "Unfortunately we are in this situation. In a complicated group and on the other hand, in Munich we did not finish scoring goals. In the San Siro it was scandalous, I do not like to play the victim, we did not like the arbitration, it is evidence. They annulled us a goal that wasn't, and they didn't call a penalty. I made the corresponding claim talking to UEFA", he affirmed.

An elimination that would disrupt a project still under construction. "It has an impact that will be between 25 and 35 million, but there are other ways to compensate it. Seeking to increase new sponsorships, we also continue to compete in Europe, which reports income," said the president, who acknowledged that they have in mind the possibility to go to the winter market to reinforce the workforce.

"The project will be adjusted once the economy improves. There are still a number of adjustments to the team. Looking ahead to the winter market, we have had conversations with the technical secretary because the team is already powerful, but it can be improved," he reaffirmed.

Regarding the mood of Xavi Hernández, Laporta highlighted his optimism. "I saw him sad and touched, but he has a virtue that no one else I have met has. He immediately sees the positive side in a bad situation. He knows a lot so that this team continues to progress. We want LaLiga because it is the competition of perseverance, the 'Champions' has given us a low blow," said the club's chief executive.

Asked about the whistles of a part of the fans to the captains of FC Barcelona, ​​Laporta showed them his support. "If they become captains it is because they have given a lot to Barça and they do everything they can. They are specific events, but they deserve all the respect and admiration for what they represent. My relationship with them has always been good, we have the confidence to speak of everything," he said.

Now, the next goal for the 'culé' squad is to win at the Santiago Bernabéu. "The Clásico is always important because whoever wins comes out stronger and whoever loses is hit. It will serve to see the reaction capacity that this team has. We are recovering some injured players, I hope that the players have this spirit of overcoming," he predicted.

"It's fun to go play at the Bernabéu. It's a game that I especially like to go to. I've been lucky enough to see great Barça games in Madrid. We'll recover from the most difficult moments, it's 123 years of history and always recomposed, we have the capacity to do it from all levels of the club", settled.

Finally, Laporta also mentioned the Argentine star Leo Messi, who has been linked in recent weeks with his return to the Barça team next season. "He's a PSG player, we wouldn't do anyone a favor by talking about this and we have to respect him," he mentioned.

"We will do something to recognize who has been the best player in the history of Barça. We 'culés' have him in our collective memory. This Sunday will be 18 years since Leo made his debut, we plan to do some recognition. I will see Monday at the Ballon d'Or gala, I know that Barça means a lot to him," he said.