Sawt Falasteen - Barca chief Laporta says he is blameless over Olmo registration issue

Midfielder Olmo and striker Pau Victor both missed two matches after La Liga and the Spanish football federation (RFEF) refused them new licenses to play, saying Barcelona had failed to meet the deadline at the end of 2024.

The financially-struggling Catalan giants sold seats in VIP boxes at their under-construction Spotify Camp Nou stadium to Middle Eastern investors to help pass La Liga's strict financial fair play restrictions for the new licenses.

Barcelona approached Spain's national sports council for a temporary measure which would allow the duo to play before a final ruling is made on their case against La Liga and the RFEF, which they were granted last week.

"Nothing which has happened in these last weeks regarding the registrations has surprised us," Laporta told reporters in a news conference which lasted nearly two hours.

"If you look at Barca's history you can expect these reactions, it's not just by chance that when Barcelona are rising, various parties unite to tell a tale that is not true at all.

"They didn't get what they wanted, because of the determination of the board and the staff, they wanted to destroy us but we never gave up."

Playmaker Olmo, Barca's marquee summer signing, appeared as a substitute in the emphatic 5-2 Spanish Super Cup final win over Real Madrid in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, the club's first piece of silverware under coach Hansi Flick.

Laporta said La Liga had unexpectedly asked for additional documentation from the club on December 31 regarding the sale of the VIP seats, which led to Barcelona missing the deadline.

The president said investors from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates had bought the seats but the money had not arrived by the end of 2024 and La Liga were demanding to see proof of it.

- 'Clear attack' -

Spanish media reported some opposition and fan groups were considering asking Laporta to resign but the president scoffed at the idea.

"I don't think a Barca president should step down because of a decision from La Liga," said Laporta.

"This was a clear attack to destabilise us before the Super Cup which we all wanted to win...

"It's not about supporting Laporta, it's about supporting Barca, they destabilised the team... I value the mental strength of Flick (and the players)."

Laporta said one of the reasons for the registration debacle was because the club did not accept a new sponsorship deal with sportswear brand Nike in the summer.

That was in order to work on a better deal which they have now signed, worth a reported 1.7 billion euros ($1.74 billion) until 2028.

"At the time we could have sealed a deal with Nike which is worse than the one that we have, but because we had other options, we went with them," said Laporta.

"We thought about registering (Olmo and Victor) with the Nike deal, but we waited, to keep negotiating, and we earned around 300 million euros ($308 million) more on the contract."

S.Barghouti--SF-PST