The president of FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta, gave an interview to Mundo Deportivo in which he made many statements that will give a lot to talk about soon. The Azulgrana president had the opportunity to, among other things, talk about the incorporation of Marcus Rashford in this summer market and how close the Catalan team was to obtaining the services of Nico Williams and Luis Díaz, two options that the entity considered to reinforce the left wing.
Laporta preferred Rashford as reinforcement for the left wing
Regarding the signing of Marcus Rashford, he admitted that the English striker was the available option that he liked the most to reinforce the left wing, expressing his good feelings with the arrival of the British attacker.
"It has been a more complicated terrain than that of the goal due to the opinions that came from all sides. There were several options and I am very happy because we have ended up getting the option that I liked the most"
Likewise, Jan recognized that he did not see the arrival of Lucho Díaz with bad eyes, but he also detailed the complexities surrounding an incorporation of such magnitude: "It is true that I also liked Luis Díaz, a very complete player, but due to his circumstances, with a very entrenched Liverpool, it was complicated. Although I thank the player who wanted to come at all times."
Why Nico Williams' signing for FC Barcelona fell through
In that line, Laporta spoke for the first time about the frustrated signing of Nico Williams by FC Barcelona, stating that the player from Pamplona, in principle, was not among his main options to reinforce the left wing of the club:
"What happened with Nico Williams happened. And in view of the fact that Luis's was complicated and that we were in the process of negotiating with Rashford, Nico's agent came offering the possibility of signing him. Deco told me about it. I, in principle, preferred to work on the other two options, but in these cases I always listen to the sports management," he began by saying.
Beyond this, the manager explained the reason why the operation did not end up materializing, even though everything seemed on track:
"He said that we should at least listen, because he is an interesting player, who holds the wing. There were negotiations, but from what they told us to what it finally was, there was a lot of difference: in the payment terms, in the agent's commission and a series of variables that already had signs that the operation would not occur. Deco set a 'deadline' of 48 hours and, if they did not accept our conditions, we were not going to do the operation. In the end, it was not done. In parallel, we worked with the other two, and Rashford's was clarified," he emphasized.
Rashford fulfills his dream of wearing the Barça shirt
Already in the purely linked field to the signing of Marcus Rashford by FC Barcelona, Laporta clarified the great expectations that are placed on the arrival of the English winger, who, at all times, made clear his desire to be a 'culé':
"We are very happy because a player of great quality is coming, with a great age to come to Barça and with an extraordinary motivation. Personally, I have verified the illusion that it makes him come. One of his virtues is that he is sincere. His dream was to play at United all his life. He arrived at the age of seven and was born there with an interesting life. He wanted to be a 'One club man'. It is nice that a player says this with all sincerity," he said.
Jan added: "But when a situation occurs in his life that he did not expect, the team that he had always liked is Barça. He had faced us and had Barça on the radar. He was loaned to Aston Villa so that it could be seen that he is the best player ever, the best in England, and he says that his greatest motivation is to win the Champions League with Barça and the World Cup with England."
Finally, Laporta surrendered to the conditions of the English striker: "We have him very motivated. He has come strong as a rock, he is very excited, he has entered well with his teammates and I am very happy because two years ago he won us in the Europa League. He made the difference in the tie and that is why I am very happy that he has come," he concluded.