ჟოან ლაპორტა პოლიციის ძალადობას გმობს და მსოფლიო ჩემპიონების ღონისძიებას აუქმებს

Joan Laporta: “First of all, we have absolute respect for Atlético Madrid and their officials. We also have personal appreciation for them because we have known each other for many years.”

“I would like to explain how things unfolded, because at Barça we submitted an offer to Atlético Madrid, from club to club. I personally confirmed this offer during a phone conversation I had with Miguel Ángel Marín.”

“He told me that they had no intention of selling the player because they did not have a replacement for him going forward.”

“I told him that we were interested in the player and that, of course, we respected their position of not wanting to sell. But if they found a replacement during the current summer transfer window, we would be interested in signing him.”

“Based on that, and with Atlético Madrid confirming that they would not sell him, we said: ‘Okay, let’s leave it for later,’ because, in principle, they did not have a replacement, so we could not sign the player.”

“What happened next? We received information at the club that Atlético Madrid were negotiating with other clubs over the sale of the player.”

“Naturally, given the information we received, we say that we still stand by our proposal and our offer, because everyone knows that the player wants to come to Barça.”

“So, this situation created a lot of noise, but it was not because of anything Barça did. They told us they would not sell the player, while it seems, at least according to the information reaching us, that they are trying to reach agreements with other clubs.”

“After that, through people we trust, we contacted Enrique Cerezo. Enrique Cerezo later made some statements.”

“With all due respect to Enrique Cerezo, I believe Barça acted appropriately and did what we normally do with other clubs. The same thing happened with Manchester City, and there are other clubs we contacted to ask whether they were willing to sell one of their players. When they told us, ‘We’re not selling,’ we left it there.”

“But in this case, there are special circumstances because we are receiving information that Atlético Madrid want to sell the player to other clubs. That is why Barça are still there, and the offer we submitted remains valid until the end of the transfer window, in case Atlético Madrid decide to sell the player.”

“The truth is that we are very interested in the player, and we would like our offer to be accepted. We are doing this with full respect for Atlético Madrid.”

“We want them to know that if they are prepared to sell the player during the current summer transfer window, we are ready to sign him according to the offer we submitted to them.”