Barcelona president Joan Laporta has harshly criticized those attempting to destabilize the club, both internally and externally. He accused La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) of trying to unsettle the club over the registration issues of Dani Olmo and Pau Victor, while also targeting individuals within the club who called for his resignation.
Barcelona signed Olmo and Victor during the summer transfer window but, due to La Liga’s spending limits, were only able to register them for the first half of the 2024-25 season. Last month, Barcelona’s request to register them for the remainder of the season was denied by two Barcelona courts. The league claimed the decision was based on the club’s failure to meet necessary preconditions.
La Liga and the RFEF later clarified that Barcelona had missed the December 31 deadline to provide proof of compliance with Financial Fair Play regulations, leading to the cancellation of the players’ registrations. They also stated that players whose registrations are canceled cannot be registered again within the same season. Barcelona appealed the decision to Spain’s National Sports Council (CSD), which granted temporary registrations for Olmo and Victor until a final court ruling.
In a nearly two-hour press conference on Tuesday, Laporta insisted that the club had provided all necessary documentation, proving they had met the conditions to extend the players’ registrations on time.
“There were people inside and outside the club working to destabilize us. They wanted to destroy the club at a critical moment in our history. But they’ll have to work much harder to bury us. A club with 125 years of history cannot be destabilized so easily.”
Laporta also asserted that he would never consider resigning over La Liga and the RFEF’s decisions. “We don’t give up, but they tried to unsettle the club, the players, and the manager. We responded, and we won the Super Cup.”
Laporta didn’t hold back criticism of Atlético Madrid, Valencia, and Espanyol, who opposed the CSD’s decision to grant temporary registrations for Olmo and Victor.
“It’s disappointing to see some clubs take a stance against us. It was unnecessary and caught us by surprise. However, everyone has the right to their opinion. We remain grateful to the clubs that didn’t stand against us.”
