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Written by Martin Graham | 26 May 2022
Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, has drawn criticism for Paris Saint-Germain over the way the Kylian Mbappe deal went while he reached out to the club’s former stars, Lionel Messi and Neymar, for a comeback.
The saga that followed everyone in the world of football for nearly two years finally came to an end last weekend as Mbappe forged a three-year contract with ten-times French Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain.
The 23-year-old was the closest to Real Madrid and many believe he will end up at the Santiago Bernabeu only for the youngster to choose to stay at PSG.
Barcelona, at one point, was in talks with Mbappe but did not go ahead with the deal due to the financial demands of the 2018 Copa Cup winner. Laporta has now joined his votes in front of the many who spoke out against renewing Mbappe with PSG due to the financial resources involved.
The Spanish business magnate also asked his former players Messi and Neymar to consider returning to the Camp Nou “for free”. He also spoke about how upset PSG fans are with both players, who are considered the best in the world.
Laporta says PSG sign players into slavery
talk with L’Esportiu de Catalunya On both players, Laporta said. “Who doesn’t love Neymar? He’s an exceptional player. He has a contract with PSG, and he only has four or five years left.
“Those players who signed for clubs like Paris Saint-Germain almost signed into slavery. For the money.”
“Messi is gone. We all would have liked to end his sporting career here and for whatever reason he wasn’t able to.
“It can’t be because of fair play [rules] From the Spanish League and the proposal of Paris Saint-Germain. These players, when they get into a dynamic like this, find that they can’t leave because the operations are worth millions of euros.
“He told me, in the case of Neymar: I don’t know how they do it in France, because maybe they have other systems that we don’t have here, but canceling a previously signed system costs a lot of money.
“It is also true that PSG has a country behind them, they have a lot of money and maybe they can make a down payment to finish such a contract.”
Laporta also indicated that while he would like to get either or both players back, that would only be possible on a free transfer at this time due to Barcelona’s dire financial situation.
Mbappe deal will affect European football
Laporta then gave two cents in the Mbappe transfer story, showing no sympathy for his rivals in the Clasico.
He said: This distorts the market. Players end up being kidnapped for money. These are the implications of having a state behind the club. This goes against all principles of the European Union.
“It is a reflection of the sustainability of football in Europe. Then there is the reading that can be made from Barcelona. There is a direct competitor who does not come out stronger and we would prefer not to be confused when it comes to the competition.
“But I left thinking about the sustainability of football.
“Because I don’t think we should care too much about an opponent either. We have to worry about having a competitive team, which is what we’re trying to do.
“We saw that when we cared more about ourselves than our opponents, things went well.”
