Laporta refuses to rule out prospect of Barca beat Madrid to Mbappe signing
FT Desk
- 25 Mar 2022 19:17 GMT
- 8 min read
Barcelona president Joan Laporta refused to deny speculation linking Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe with a move to the club this summer.
The France international has long since been linked with a move to Real Madrid, after the club made a bid for the player in the January transfer window, which was rejected by the French giants.
However, reports in Spain sparked excitement among Barca fans, when Mbappe was linked with a move to the Catalan giants this week.
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And when asked by Mundo Deportivo about the prospect of Mbappe moving to Barca next season, Laporta decided to take a diplomatic answer and refused to deny that the club could make a move for the striker in a matter of a few months.
“Everyone here is free to send out messages and proclamations and we know that this is part of the world of football, that the big clubs are interested in great players,” said Laporta.
“But I'm not going to talk about players, and you must allow me not to, because if I do, the only thing I can do is harm the interests of our club.
“If we talk about a player and we had the intention of signing him, we would increase the price. Neither with this player nor with others do I want to comment on issues because it would harm the interests of the club.”
'We prioritise the team above all else'
While Laporta wasn’t willing to go on the record about Barca’s interest in Mbappe, he did go into some detail as to what the club’s transfer policy will be moving forward.
In what may be considered a slight dig at PSG and Madrid, who seem to prioritise signing stars over building squads, Laporta stated that Barca would only sign players that fitted into their system and helped Xavi build a complete team.
“The technical department and the sporting management are working to improve our squad, which is getting better and better, and we are more and more satisfied,” said the Barca president.
“I want it to be clearly understood that we prioritise the team above all else, a team that is strengthened in each of its lines, and what we don't participate in is the promotion of players or looking for players who are more than the team.
“What we want to reinforce is the team we have that plays based on a genuine Barca system. The club thinks that this is what the football team needs, this genuine style that for me is the key to everything and this is what we have to do, a team that can play this system with very talented players.”
