Laporta and Florentino, sun and shadow

Jan and Flo are very different, but they have shared an apartment for years. Taking advantage of a few days of vacation, they have gone to Mallorca. The first night they went out to dinner and, afterwards, to party. Flo takes care of himself, and after having another glass of Ribera del Duero, he preferred to go back to the apartment. On the other hand, Jan, more of a bon vivant, first indulged in two good plates of macaroni, then had gin and tonics, and at the club, he drank straight from a Moët magnum that was circulating on the dance floor while he danced, sang, and hugged friends he had met that very morning. It was already daylight when he went to bed, tired but happy. When he woke up, Flo had already been doing his yoga exercises for a while, had eaten yogurt with cereal for breakfast, and was now answering some emails. Jan loves sobrassada and ensaïmadas, and there is nothing better than this combination to start the day if you are on vacation in Mallorca. Then he put on his swimsuit and dived into the pool, splashing Flo, who at that moment was on his third lap. Jan prefers the butterfly style. Flo protects himself from the sun with a hat under the umbrella. Jan, on the water mattress, closes his eyes while feeling the sun warm and tan him.

Joan Laporta and Florentino Pérez are the sun and the shadow of the box seats. Two radically opposite ways of being in the world that translate into the way they manage their clubs.

Florentino Pérez has governed Real Madrid with calculation, with almost monastic coldness; Joan Laporta does it from the gut and the passionate excess of the narrative.

But the most fascinating thing about this "sun and shadow" is the deep identity paradox it hides. Historically, the cliché says that the Catalan character is defined by common sense, discretion, and a low profile; on the other hand, the Madrid character is associated with a certain arrogance and extroversion. Well, the communicating vessels of football have inverted the roles in an almost comical way. Barça has surrendered to Laporta's overwhelming leadership, while Real Madrid has surrendered to Florentino Pérez's hermetic shyness and Calvinist control.

With last week's press conference, Florentino made a serious mistake, but it's not the first. On October 28, 2024, in an act of institutional pride, he decided at the last minute to cancel his expedition to Paris upon learning that Vinícius Júnior would not lift the Ballon d'Or. The winner was a Madrid-born footballer from the European champion team: Rodri Hernández. With his no-show, Madrid not only signed a controversial snub to the footballing community but also offended the success of football in his own country. For decades, Real Madrid has exported the brand of "señorío" to the world. Its own anthem says: "When he loses, he shakes hands, without envy or grudges". 

These two errors reveal the growing fragility of the white president. A weakness that Florentino has not known how to curb by betting again on a coach from the past like Mourinho, at a time when not even the totem Guardiola himself would be a future profile for Barça. 

While Florentino complicates his life with his lack of criteria for good football, Laporta cries with Lewandowski, laughs with Flick, and hugs whoever comes his way. His way of understanding this complex sport is to the taste of the Barcelonistas, and it is clear that the game of the teams Laporta has presided over conveys contemporary footballing excellence, spirit, Catalan identity, Masia, and genius, beyond the coach, which is also his decision. This recognized intuition and shrewdness should indicate to him when it is time to step down and also that it would be good to take care of himself. Perhaps not as much as the stoic Florentino, but sometimes, he makes one suffer a little.