Overwhelmed by the difficult economic situation and pointed out by the Negreira case, Barcelona took a breather on the pitch. “President”, Xavi Hernández started yesterday in his speech and pointed out to Joan Laporta: “We are not so bad”. It was the coach’s first wink, referring to the president’s speech in 2008, when Barcelona closed its second year without titles in the Rijkaard era. At that time, Laporta had just saved the motion of no confidence, in the prelude to Guardiola’s arrival on the Camp Nou bench. The second gesture of the night Xavi had with Johan Cruyff. “The fans have been spectacular. Those who have been here, at home and on the street. It has been chicken skin ”, Xavi paraphrased the creator of the Dream Team to thank the fans, after lifting his first League as coach.
“It has come out on the fly. She has suffered a lot. What they have done is very meritorious. It is not Xavi’s league. It is the league for everyone, for all Barcelona fans, ”the Barcelona coach explained the mention of him to Laporta. Captain Sergio Busquets, on the other hand, remembered his teammates who were no longer on the Camp Nou pitch. “This is also from Hector [Bellerín]Auba [Aubameyang]Gery [Piqué]Memphis [Depay] and of all the teammates from the subsidiary who have helped us win the title”, explained number 5. Piqué, who had four reserved seats in the box, was not present at Barça’s celebration at the Camp Nou. He was not in the rúa last Monday either. Yes, he received the love of the Busquets public.
Little (or not at all) accustomed to recognition, Busquets took the tribute to the applause of the Barcelona fans. “If it was the first, surely it will have been one of the few ovations that I have seen from Busquets. To me he is the best defensive midfielder I have ever seen. I’ve changed it to that for people to clap for it. And next week he deserves a great tribute”, Xavi stressed. This Saturday, at least, the pivot did not lack affection from the Barcelona fans.
“This League is very important to me. She knew of the difficulty, but she was very excited. In the end, stubborn has come out. I had a really bad time losing in the Champions League”, added the Barcelona coach. Last summer, the board led by Laporta sold assets to invest close to 150 million euros in transfers. The risky play reached him to retake power in Spain, champion of the Super Cup and the League. On the other hand, in Europe, Barça was left out of the Champions League group stage to later fall to United in the round of 16 of the Europa League. “We have to go one step further and compete to the maximum in Europe. We are obliged to do it. Internally, we are clear. But we have to improve and work more. We have economic difficulties, it is evident, but we are working on it. I am convinced that next season the team will take another leap forward and we will fight for it”, stated Mateu Alemany, the club’s football director.
Alemany: “After personal reflection, my place is here”
He threatened to leave, but he stayed. He looked for new challenges, but did not find them. His place, ultimately, is in Barcelona. Alemany explained the decision not to emigrate to the Premier and thus fulfill the remaining year of his contract at the Camp Nou. “This is the biggest club in the world and I want to be here,” said the Barça executive.
On May 2, the club issued a statement announcing Alemany’s goodbye. That week, in the offices of the Sports City they assured that Alemany had accepted “an irresistible offer” from Aston Villa. “They pay him four times more,” the same sources remarked. However, 15 days later, Alemany backed down: “After personal reflection, my place is here. I am committed to this club.” Without Jordi Cruyff, who will leave his position as technical secretary -“The why is something of mine. I had it meditated many months ago. I’ll stick with that”, Cruyff stated -, Alemany will be accompanied by Deco. “Unfortunately, Jordi is leaving us, but Mateu will be there and Deco will be there,” confirmed Rafa Yuste, Barcelona’s sports vice president.
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