Joan Laporta: 'FC Barcelona comes out of this stronger'

FC Barcelona president ​​Joan Laporta gave an official press conference this Thursday morning to explain the agreement on the finance of the Espai Barça project after the club announced last Monday that a deal has been agreed for 1.45 billion euros, guaranteeing that work can commence on the renovation of Spotify Camp Nou this summer.

Speaking to some fifty representatives of the club and the media, as well as the parties involved in the operation, Laporta described it as "the most important institutional project in the club’s history … It fulfils a dream at Barça, as we are going to have the best stadium in the world.”

But the president added that project is also “proof of the faith in Fútbol Club Barcelona. It means that the institution is more alive than ever and that national and international markets have full confidence in us. Barça has been reinforced.”

The president explained that the agreement respects all the club’s commitments as ratified by the members in a referendum, namely that the project should never imply any kind of cost to the members, the the club’s own assets should not be mortgaged and that the club’s sports programmes should not be jeopardised. Joan Laporta was especially firm on this matter, saying that “we shall maintain the same governance model, and the 146,000 members will be able to continue being the owners of the club.”

Laporta described how difficult the operation had been and wished to express his gratitude to everyone who has helped to make the agreement possible, starting with the 20 investors, and the directors, executives and employees of the club “who have worked very hard in a complicated situation.” The president singled out Elena Fort, the institutional vice-president, for particular praise, as well as Eduard Romeu, economic vice-president, and board members Àngel Riudalbas, Juli Guiu and Jordi Llauradó, as well as treasurer Ferran Olivé.

Speaking solemnly and visibly moved, the president ended his speech with some words for the future, when the team returns to Spotify Camp Nou after just over a season playing home games at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium because of the construction work. “We will be back in late 2024 in occasion of the FC Barcelona anniversary” he said. “It is a legacy that we will leave to our children, and our grandchildren after that.”