Joan Laporta says relations with Real Madrid are broken
Barcelona president heated up the lead-up to the Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia
Joan Laporta, president of FC Barcelona, ??stated that institutional relations between the Catalan club and Real Madrid are at their lowest point. He explained that the ties are "completely broken," although he left the door open to a possible reconciliation if both parties are willing. The leader's statements were made in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after the welcome cocktail party prior to the official dinner of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, on the eve of the Spanish Super Cup final.
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Laporta was clear in describing the current situation between the two biggest institutions in Spanish football. “Relations between Barcelona and Real Madrid are bad, they’re broken. There are several issues that have distanced us. If we were already fierce and eternal rivals, now a situation is developing that is making relations very poor,” he stated to the media present, according to the EFE news agency. His words reflect a climate of tension that goes beyond sports and has spilled over into the institutional sphere. The Negreira case and institutional respect: The Barcelona president directly linked this deterioration to the recent statements made by Florentino Perez, president of Real Madrid, regarding the so-called Negreira case, during the last members' assembly of the Madrid club. For Laporta, these demonstrations marked a new breaking point in a relationship that was already strained.
“Relations are broken, which doesn't mean there isn't a respect that we must always maintain regardless of the state of relations, and we will always act with respect and in a civilized manner, but relations are completely broken,” insisted the Barcelona president, emphasizing that, despite the conflict, Barcelona will maintain an institutional stance based on respect.
When asked about the possibility of repairing the relationship, Laporta adopted a somewhat more conciliatory tone. “In both football and life,“Everything can be resolved,” he noted, although he clarified that this path will depend exclusively “on the will of the parties.” In that sense, he recalled that “a series of circumstances have occurred that have broken down relations,” alluding directly, once again, to Florentino Perez's words regarding the Negreira case. Beyond the institutional conflict, Laporta also addressed the sporting aspect and the Spanish Super Cup final to be played this Sunday. The Barcelona president avoided speaking of favorites, despite the context of both teams. “Despite how both teams are arriving at the final, there are no favorites, because in a final there are never any favorites,” he stated.

