Since Joan Laporte returned as Barcelona president, and especially since Xavi Hernandez rocked up as manager, the Catalan media have been falling over themselves to praise the club.
One may think that questions should be asked over the various financial ‘levers’ and what harm that could do the club in the future, but, no, for the Catalan media it’s all sunny around the Blaugrana.
In this theme, Sunday’s edition of Sport has a column stating Barca’s management team have a ‘clear conscience’ after sending Ansu Fati to Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer.
Ansu Fati arrived at the Premier League club on a season long loan and will hope to develop further under Roberto De Zerbi’s management.
Sport state: ‘For months they tried to see the forward’s progression day by day in training, but the expected evolution did not occur. Ansu did not recover the expected level and in training he did not make a difference.’
That they’re even going to these lengths to insist it was the correct decisions shows that many clearly have doubts about sending the player to Brighton, otherwise they wouldn’t keep trying to justify it.
For the Seagulls, it’s a good opportunity, but one tinged with a little annoyance. Because, and this is repeatedly made clear in the Catalan media, should Ansu Fati shine at Brighton then it’s very much expected Barcelona will simply snatch him back and benefit from that work.
