Today, Saturday, a Spanish press report revealed the scenes behind the attendance of Barcelona President Joan Laporta at the Ballon d’Or ceremony, which witnessed Lionel Messi being crowned with the award for the eighth time in his history.
According to the Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo, although there was tension in the relationship between the managements of Manchester City and Barcelona, Laporta went to talk to Ferran Soriano, the executive director of the English club.
Tension arose between the two parties, following Manchester City’s refusal to transfer Joao Cancelo to Barcelona, last January, in addition to the Sky Club’s attempt to sign Lamine Yamal from Girona Gate.
The newspaper indicated that the two parties spoke in a friendly and comfortable manner despite the differences, and the discussions did not include the name of Cancelo, who is currently on loan to Barcelona without the right to purchase, and there was no talk of any negotiations.
The newspaper added that the dialogue between the two parties concerned football in general.
Laporta also went and had a short conversation with Aleksander Ceferin, President of the European Football Association (UEFA), despite the existence of previous tension between the two parties due to the Super League Championship and the Negrera case.
After the ceremony, Laporta met Erling Haaland, Manchester City striker, and greeted him.
Laporta and Xavi Hernandez, the Blaugrana coach, traveled to Germany in 2022 and held a meeting with Haaland to explore the possibility of his transfer to Barca.
But the Norwegian striker eventually decided to join Manchester City, while Barcelona chose to sign Robert Lewandowski.
