“Lost credibility”: Barcelona boss Joan Laporta takes aim at Real Madrid again
Joan Laporta has once again aimed venomous barbs at Real Madrid. The Barcelona president has now criticised the Real Madrid hierarchy.
"Real Madrid have lost credibility, both at an institutional and a sporting level," the Barca boss said in an interview with L'Equipe, adding: "I think they have taken the wrong path and are now paying the price. They opened their chequebook to sign many very expensive players who are not delivering the results they had hoped for."
Madrid have gone two years without a major title. Under coach Hansi Flick, Barca are the team to beat in Spain, with nine wins from nine games putting them on course for the LaLiga title. Ahead of next Sunday's Clasico, they lead their arch-rivals by six points. A win for the Catalans could go a long way towards deciding the title. Atletico Madrid remain second, one point ahead of Real. Rumours suggest coach Jose Mourinho is already under considerable pressure ahead of the eagerly anticipated match.
For Laporta, the big egos in Madrid's star-studded squad, including Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior, are also to blame. "Having more than one rooster in a henhouse can never work," the 64-year-old said. He argued that Barca's greater reliance on talent from their own ranks is clearly superior to Real's transfer policy.
Why have relations between Barca and Real Madrid broken down?
Laporta also addressed the long-troubled relationship between the two clubs. "It no longer exists. I would even say it is now a confrontation," he made clear.
For months, Barca and Real have been publicly at odds. The high-profile Negreira case is widely seen as the main trigger. At its centre are payments of up to seven million euros that FC Barcelona made over many years to companies linked to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, a former vice-president of the Spanish referees' committee. In May, Real president Florentino Perez accused the Blaugrana of corruption, among other things, and described the case as "the most serious corruption case in the history of football". "I have won seven league titles. I could have won twice as many. The others were stolen from me," he said.
The case will now come before a court on 25 November. Both parties must then attend a mediation hearing in Madrid, ahead of possible criminal proceedings against Perez for defamation.
Why Real Madrid are not only at odds with Barca
Laporta also recently made serious allegations against Real, who are currently embroiled in a dispute with LaLiga chief Javier Tebas. Madrid called on Tebas to resign after he accused the club's own TV channel, in a post on X, of propaganda in the style of Nazi Germany.
Before Saturday's league match at Real Betis (5-2), Laporta said: "Having Javier Tebas as president of LaLiga, with the experience that such matters require. He also has a good sense of how to counter these attacks from Madrid on LaLiga." He added: "It seems as if they want to destroy everything, as if they want to destroy LaLiga, as if they want to destroy the Technical Committee of Referees. They are not happy with the federation either; they are not happy with anything."
