The presidential elections at FC Barcelona are casting their shadow. Candidate Xavier Vilajoana caused a stir at an election event on Friday with statements about Harry Kane.
At the beginning of February, it was officially announced that Joan Laporta had resigned from his position as president of FC Barcelona – in order to run for re-election. This was a necessary step due to the Catalan club’s statutes. Laporta wants to be officially re-elected on March 15 to begin his third term at the world-famous club. However, there are also opponents. One of them is Xavier Vilajoana, who has now held a public election rally.
Many media representatives from Catalonia were in attendance – and were not disappointed by Vilajoana’s announcements. He confirmed that his team had allegedly contacted Harry Kane’s representatives in order to lure the Englishman, who currently plays for FC Bayern, to Catalonia: “We have contacted Kane’s entourage. We must proceed cautiously and professionally.
We are reviewing various profiles, and Kane is one of them. He is a goal scorer, a team player, and a ‘killer’ in tight spaces, which Barca needs.”
It is unclear how much campaigning is involved in these statements. It is also unclear whether contact has actually been made with the striker, whom Bayern would like to extend beyond 2027.
But Vilajoana has a clear vision for the team of the future. In it, the legendary La Masia youth academy is to play a “key role”: “First, we look around at home; if we don’t find what we need there, we look elsewhere. Every new signing must be the best for the position and be approved by several people. It’s not enough to sign someone just for the sake of signing them.“
”I wouldn’t spend €70 million on Julian at the moment”
The name Julian Alvarez is currently omnipresent in Barcelona. On Friday, reports from Argentina circulated that Barcelona would sign the Atletico striker for €70 million. Vilajoana has a clear opinion on this: “I wouldn’t spend €70 million on Julian at the moment. You have to analyze the actual situation of the club.” The reigning world champion, who Arsenal are also said to be interested in, still has a contract in Madrid until 2030. In any case, Barcelona are on the lookout for a clinical finisher. The future of Robert Lewandowski, who is increasingly finding himself in the shadow of Ferran Torres, is completely open as his contract expires in the summer.
Help for Flick: coordinator for the transition?
Because La Masia serves as “the foundation for everything,” Vilajoana later emphasized the need for a coordinator to manage the transition between the second and first teams: “There have been times when first-team coaches have needed players from the second team at important moments. We need someone to coordinate all of this.”
It remains to be seen whether Vilajoana will soon be coordinating all of this from the top. The former professional was open to the possibility of forming a joint candidacy with all the other contenders to run against Laporta.
