Barcelona president Joan Laporta has said the club’s relationship with Real Madrid is “completely broken” as the two rivals prepare to meet in Sunday’s Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia.
Tensions between Laporta and Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez have simmered throughout the season and intensified in recent weeks. Before Christmas, Pérez described the Negreira case as the “biggest scandal in football”, prompting a sharp response from Laporta, who accused Real Madrid of “spewing lies”.
Speaking ahead of the final, Laporta said the breakdown in relations reflects a series of unresolved disputes, though he insisted mutual respect must remain.
“Relations with Real Madrid are bad, they’re broken. There are several issues that have distanced us,” Laporta said, as quoted by Sport. “If we were already fierce and eternal rivals, now a situation is developing that makes relations very poor.”
He added that while respect should be maintained “in a civilised manner”, the relationship between the two clubs is currently “completely broken”. Laporta did, however, suggest the rift could still be repaired, depending on the willingness of both sides.
“Everything in football, as in life, can be resolved, but it depends on the will of the parties involved,” he said. “At the moment, a series of circumstances have led to a breakdown in relations.”
Barcelona and Real Madrid will set aside their off-field feud on Sunday as they renew hostilities on the pitch, with Barca aiming to defend their Spanish Super Cup title against their fiercest rivals.
