Barcelona begin a defining stretch with Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid on the horizon, two fixtures that place the Catalan club at the centre of the European conversation. Lamine Yamal arrives there in exceptional form, strengthened further by his display at La Cartuja, and Joan Laporta has used the moment to frame both his young star and Barcelona’s wider place in the continental game.
The Barcelona president described Yamal as a player of extraordinary scale, someone able to captivate the crowd as well as decide matches. “He is a genius,” Laporta said, praising not only the teenager’s talent and flair but also his mentality. In his view, Yamal has become an essential presence in modern football, combining natural spectacle with a distinctive competitive character.
That admiration comes before a week in which Barcelona will meet the reigning European champions from Paris and then their oldest domestic rivals. PSG’s place at the summit of the continent was also acknowledged by Laporta, who spoke warmly of Nasser Al-Khelaifi and said their relationship was now one of friendship and mutual respect.
Laporta credited Al-Khelaifi’s work at the European Club Association, as well as PSG’s development on and off the pitch. He also offered praise for Luis Enrique, arguing that the former Barcelona coach has brought something of the club’s original footballing identity to Paris. PSG’s European success, he said, was built on Luis Enrique giving the side his own personality, while Al-Khelaifi and sporting director Luis Campos deserved recognition for backing that project.
Paris warmth, Madrid frost
While relations with Paris have improved, Laporta presented a sharply different picture of Barcelona’s dealings with Real Madrid and Florentino Pérez. He said there is no longer any relationship between the clubs and characterised the institutional divide as an open confrontation.
Laporta accused Madrid of losing credibility both institutionally and sporting-wise, and claimed the club had sought to redirect attention through its allegations around the Negreira case. He insisted there was nothing behind those accusations and said Madrid had forfeited influence within football’s institutions by following the wrong course.
He was similarly direct on Madrid’s squad-building, returning to his earlier concern that Kylian Mbappé’s arrival could complicate the balance of the team. Laporta’s argument was that multiple dominant figures cannot simply be assembled without consequence: football, he said, depends on the collective before individual status.
Madrid, in his assessment, have committed enormous sums to several players without receiving the expected return. Barcelona, by contrast, rely on a blend of elite young players from La Masia and recruits shaped by different football cultures, seeking to turn that range into a functioning side rather than a collection of stars.
Laporta linked Madrid’s public stance to a barren spell of two years without a trophy, while maintaining that Barcelona are winning again and remain capable of competing for every prize. Above all, he identified the Champions League as the club’s principal target this season — a prize whose route now runs through Paris before Barcelona return to the intensity of their rivalry with Madrid.
