Javier Tebas, as he usually does whenever he has the opportunity, has once again addressed issues related to FC Barcelona. This time, the 62-year-old leader, within the framework of his presence at the ISDE (Higher Institute of Law and Economics) in Madrid, felt a couple of issues linked to the Blaugrana team on an institutional level, and also took the opportunity to refer to one of its great talents: Lamine Yamal.
First, the Hispanic-Costa Rican executive superficially addressed the issue of the alleged sanction that FC Barcelona could face from UEFA. This would be related to possible irregularities in the 'fair play'' financial.
Javier Tebas avoided making a strong statement:
"I don't know what is being investigated and I don't know what there is, therefore... We have our work and, throughout the year, there have been many news items. What UEFA has done, sincerely, I don't know."
Faced with the option that the investigation is related to one of the so-called 'economic levers', the head of the employers' association explained: "They will be concepts of different economic control regulations, and it must be taken into account that UEFA computes the accounts with a two-season delay. They are now analyzing 2023-24 or 2022-23. In those times, the operations that Barcelona carried out were not limited by our regulations; then they were limited. They are allowed, but up to a certain limit according to the turnover, and I don't know if that is exactly it."
The keys for Barcelona to be able to sign players in the summer market
As usual, Tebas also referred to what the 'culé' team must do to be able to incorporate players without problems in this summer market, complying with the 1:1 rule in economic control:
"They know what they have to do, I'm not going to reveal much more. They know it, they know the way, they are aware of the rules and I hope they comply with them. We wouldn't like them to keep us on tenterhooks until the last day, as happened with cases that were not pleasant for us at the end of the year (like those of Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor). They have a financial team that knows the rules perfectly," he emphasized.
Tebas' praise for the youth academy of the Blaugrana club
It wasn't all warnings or controversies. The president of LaLiga also praised the formative football of FC Barcelona, highlighting the emerging talent that already nourishes the first team:
"When it is said that LaLiga does not sign players, I say that what should not be done is to waste money. This shows that, when you trust young players, the results come. There we have the case of Barcelona with Casadó, Cubarsí or Lamine Yamal. It is not necessary to sign so much, because many times the stars are in your house."
Ballon d'Or for Lamine Yamal or... Vinicius Jr.?
Finally, Javier Tebas got wet when talking about his favorites for the Ballon d'Or 2025, and his response did not go unnoticed:
"It should be between Lamine Yamal or Vinicius"
A mention that was surprising, only for the inclusion of Vinicius Jr., who did not have his best season with Real Madrid, neither individually nor collectively. However, Tebas argued his choice:
"He hasn't had a great season, but we must not forget that at the beginning he was very good. Being Ballon d'Or is the sum of a season, and he still has international matches and the Club World Cup left. Those two players are playing in Spain," he said.