Barcelona president Joan Laporta has said Clásico rivals Real Madrid have a model of “power” and “signing players” that contrasts with how the Catalan club is run.
Laporta overlooked that Barça have also spent big money on transfers in the past, saying the Blaugrana are “more than a club” because they focus on developing players.
“We’re different clubs,” Laporta told the club’s in-house podcast. “Madrid have a sense of power, while we have a sense of freedom. Everyone looks out for their own interests.
“It’s a good rivalry which both clubs feed off, from a position of respect, but we have different models.
“Our [model] is based on developing youngsters through La Masia and creating talent; Madrid are more inclined to signing players. They don’t have many players in their squad who have come through the academy.
“We’re really proud of who we are. We are more than a club.”
Barça have broken the €100 million ($117m) barrier three times in the last decade to sign Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembélé and Antoine Griezmann.
They also spent big to bring the likes of Neymar, Luis Suárez and Frenkie de Jong to the club in recent years.
Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso did not want to be drawn into a debate on the issue, but replied to Laporta by suggesting the clubs are not that different.
“I imagine the context in which he said what he said and I don’t want to get involved,” Alonso said in a news conference before Madrid’s Club World Cup fixture against Salzburg.
“But we do have a feeling of freedom and democracy … and I imagine they also have some power. It goes both ways.”
Meanwhile, Laporta also tried to play down the suggestion that institutional relations with Athletic Club have broken down over the club’s pursuit of Nico Williams.
Sporting director Deco confirmed Williams has a “desire” to join this summer, prompting reports Athletic will complain to LaLiga and the Spanish Football Federation [RFEF] if Barça activate his €58m release clause without having the necessary financial fair play to register him.
“I don’t understand Athletic’s reaction,” Laporta said. “With all due respect, everyone should worry about their own business.
“I don’t understand why they would go to LaLiga to speak about Barça, which is nothing to do with them, but each to their own …
“We’ve taken all the necessary steps to be able to sign normally. We will be able to sign and register the two players we want to sign.”
The first player Laporta was referring to was goalkeeper Joan García, who signed from Espanyol for €25m last week, while the second target is Spain winger Williams.
