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18.02.2009 20:29
Laporta: "Eto'o is very happy at Barça"
David Puig
Joan Laporta has responded to rumours about Eto'o’s future by saying that he is delighted with the player’s attitude and commitment. He also spoke about other issues currently affecting the club.
The president of FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta, used the presentation of the sponsorship deal with Etisalat to discuss a number of pressing issues, including the uncertainty that has been generated around the future of the Cameroonian striker. “Eto'o is an extraordinary player and so we can’t ever expect him to behave ordinarily” said Laporta. “We should respect what has been said, but Eto'o is very happy at Barça and has shown that in his behaviour on the pitch and his goals”.
Eto'o: non-conformist nature
“He is a winning but non-conformist person,
and that is a strong quality in a footballer. Eto'o has a contract with us until 2010 and we want
him to stay at Barça. We are very pleased with his performances, but whether or not he stays on,
that all depends on him. We don’t want to hold on to any player that doesn’t feel happy
at Barça”.
Team above anything else
Joan Laporta didn’t want to get involved in any kind of talk regarding the team’s position with respect to its closest rivals, for despite their excellent form, he prefers to keep his feet well and firmly on the ground. "We want the team to carry on as it is doing and don’t want to spark off any debates. The team is still involved in three competitions and our rivals are in two. Until now we were at a disadvantage because Real Madrid only had to worry about one competition, but now things will balance out once the Champions League gets back under way”.
Jordi Badia’s book
The president also confessed that he has not yet read the
book written by the club’s former head of communications, Jordi Badia, which was presented
today. "I do not wish to make any comment about something I haven’t read yet, but I will do.
I am sure that Jordi Badia will get the thanks he deserves for he was in a position of trust and I
am sure the book won’t give away anything confidential that might be damaging to the
club’s interests”.
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“A licit, legal and professional action”
Although it was an issue more related to his professional life, Joan Laporta also wished to clear
up affairs regarding his lawyer’s firm in relation to “the major shareholder in Real
Mallorca, which is involved in a creditor’s meeting, and commissioned my office to
investigate a buyer. We found a client who made an offer conditioned to a club auditor. In the end,
the operation didn’t go ahead. The ‘Laporta i Arbós’ lawyers office made a
careful study of possible incompatibilities between this job and my responsibility as president of
FC Barcelona and there were none. It was a licit, legal and professional action”.
