Joan Laporta's crushes

Barcelona"Jan sometimes falls in love someone, he begins to trust blindly and does not listen to the warnings of others," a person close to the Barça president explains to ARA. "That is what is happening to him in this second term with Enric Masip [deputy to the presidency]," he adds. The name of the former handball player He joined that of Alejandro Echevarría, his shadow advisor. Blind trust, in this case, stems from the first term, when the president's former brother-in-law resigned as a director due to his membership in the Francisco Franco Foundation. "Echevarría is the person who is helping Jan the most now. He gives him very good advice, he does him good. And most importantly: Jan listens to him," the same source assures.

But Laporta's most grandiose bet in this second term has been on Hansi Flick. Another falling in love. At first, the lawyer gave in to the clamor from those around him to sign Xavi Hernández as coach, but when the poor results and inconsistent play of the men's first team cast doubt on the Terrassa native's performance on the bench, Laporta returned to his initial idea: hiring a coach from the German school. Flick and Nagelsmann had him under their spell, and the one who was free in May 2024 was Flick. There's no doubt who was behind the decision: Laporta. People close to him say the president watches more football than people think. Flick's incorporation, which has led Barça to dream of the treble Now that April has begun, it will likely go down as the best sporting decision of his second term at the club.

Echevarría's shadow

The discovery that Alejandro Echevarría belonged to the Francisco Franco Foundation was one of the most acute crises of Laporta's first term. The matter became public in 2005, forcing Echevarría to resign as a Barça director. But, in practice, Laporta's former brother-in-law has never left the club. He is currently the most influential person in Laporta's circle. His thinking leaves its mark on both institutional and on-field matters. He is a key figure in Javier Tebas's relations with La Liga—who belonged to the youth squads of Fuerza Nueva, a far-right political party—and has influence in the dressing room (more than one Barça star from Rijkaard and Guardiola has to thank him for saving them on a wild night). He is also a member of the sports commission, even though his name does not appear on the organizational chart.

Thus, no one is surprised when Echevarría is found at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper or in the stands at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. But although his presence at Barça is equal or greater than when he was a director, the possibility of him returning to the board of directors is ruled out. Echevarría, according to sources inside and outside the club, has no desire or need to hold an official position and lives very quietly in the shadows, doing and undoing without the spotlight on him. "Echevarría even has the power to decide whether or not it's in Laporta's interest to bring forward the elections," one of these sources concludes. "Lucky for him, because it's very difficult to manage a club like Barça, where everything is analyzed in detail by those around him. You need someone who sees everything from a distance."

Fruitful Breakfasts

In almost all the photographs of Laporta's second term that do not involve the president appearing behind a lectern, he shares the frame with Enric Masip, one of Barça's handball legends. It is explained that their relationship came to fruition before Laporta returned to the Barça presidency in 2021. Masip was during the two previous years –with the permission of the pandemic–to Laporta's usual breakfasts at Café Europa with his inner circle and served as one of the lawyer's advisors during the election campaign. This resulted in his appointment as Barça's president and his entry into the sports commission.

The strong presence of Masip alongside Laporta, which has critical voices in the offices of Aristides Maillol, has been one of the main pushes that have led the president to improve his healthy lifestyle habits after the scare of the blood clot in a leg in 2023. Masip, who is still a regular gym user at 55 years old, is the one who insists that he walk as much as possible, advice that Laporta has taken seriously.

But, just as from a health point of view there is little doubt that Masip is a positive influence on Laporta, in the corridors of the entity there is some doubt that he is also when it comes to advising on what the club's direction should be, especially after some controversies. like the one that led him to close his account on X because he made posts sympathizing with the extreme rightFor some, Laporta's trust in Masip is reminiscent of the mistake the president made when he trusted Joan Oliver as Barça's general manager during his first term. Oliver later became a partner in Laporta's business ventures outside the club, which ended with five complaints of alleged fraud related to the disappearance of CF Reus Deportiu.