Broken relationships, unfulfilled promises, intuition, and the return of fun to Barça

BarcelonaJoan Laporta began his second stint as Barça president by leading an expedition to Paris in search of a quixotic comeback in the Champions League – the Blaugrana had fallen 1-4 against PSG in the first leg of the round of 16 – with a team still captained by Lionel Messi and featuring Ronaldo. Messi ended up leaving in the summer in tears and has become one of the defining figures of the season, especially due to the crossfire between Xavi Hernández and Laporta, while Ronaldo extended his tenure as coach only to ultimately depart unceremoniously. Like Xavi, his successor also left at odds with the former president before Hansi Flick's arrival. While among the major low points of Laporta's second term were disagreements with club legends like Messi, Koeman, and Xavi, his greatest success lies in the signing of the German coach.

Regarding titles, under Laporta's second term, Ronald Koeman, Leo Messi (and Antoine Griezmann) were able to cap off a lackluster 2020-21 season by winning the Copa del Rey, the first title celebrated by the former president. The main highlight that season was Barça Women's Champions League victory, which they would go on to win two more consecutively in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. The Ballon d'Or awards won by Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmatí are a source of pride for the club and the country. The basketball team, one of the sections most criticized during this period, won the ACB league that year and finished with a disappointing record of one more league title and two cups in the last five seasons. Under the sporting direction of Juan Carlos Navarro and board member Josep Cubells, the handball section has had many shortcomings and has been met with boos at the Palau Blaugrana. The arrival of Sarunas Jasikevicius as coach wasn't enough, and he too ended up leaving unceremoniously. Laporta's latest coup has been the return of Xavi Pascual to a limited squad. The handball section, with three Champions League titles (2020-21, 2021-22, 2023-24), has been the most consistent, with almost unquestionable dominance in national competitions. The futsal and roller hockey sections have been inconsistent in recent seasons.

The area where Laporta has the most influence, advised by the plenipotentiary Alejandro Echevarría, It is in the first team where, apart from coaching changes, the sporting management has also been modified. Ramon Planes was the first to leave, by his own decision and due to a lack of chemistry with Xavi when the latter arrived on the bench. Mateu Alemany and Jordi Cruyff arrived, but both ended up leaving, with Alemany particularly hurt by Laporta. Cruyff is now the sporting director of Ajax, and Alemany, of Atlético de Madrid. Before that, the Mallorcan executive tried an unsuccessful venture at Aston Villa, returned to Barça, and clashed with the arrival of Deco, as did Xavi. "Deco speaks the same language with the players and the coach. I offered Mateu the position of director of international relations with the governing bodies of football when he went to Aston Villa, and it didn't work out. And he told me no. He wanted to be sporting director. I think he's resentful. When I see him, I'd like to say to him, 'Why did you make me say, "You should hit me instead of Deco"?'" Laporta said in a recent interview. The Vanguard

Hansi Flick, Joan Laporta's great success

The former president, who has refused to be interviewed by ARA despite several requests from this newspaper, made these statements because Alemany sided with Xavi when the former coach argued that he had the green light from La Liga for Messi to return in 2023. –that's what Laporta had told him– And it was the president himself who scuttled the deal. Messi's contract renewal, in fact, is one of the biggest burdens of Laporta's second term. During the 2021 campaign, he said that if elected, he was the right person to guarantee the continuity of the Argentine star, who ended up reluctantly leaving for PSG in the summer of 2021. The post-Messi era has been slow to arrive and has been built thanks to one of Barça's most fundamental pillars: La Masia. As many as 27 players have made their debuts since March 2021, with Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsí, Gavi, Fermín López, and Marc Bernal among the most prominent. Many of them debuted under Xavi, who won a La Liga title and a Super Cup. There have also been 29 new signings (including permanent transfers and loans), with Joan Garcia being the most notable acquisition for both the present and the future, and around 50 departures, most notably Messi's exit, and some baffling moves, such as the arrival of Vitor Roque, initially rejected by Alemany and Cruyff, and later signed by Deco. In Laporta's sporting achievements during his second term, the main success was the appointment of Hansi Flick, who brought back the excitement and flair to the Barça first team, winning three titles (La Liga, Copa del Rey, and Supercopa) and reaching the Champions League semi-finals in a hard-fought battle.