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Barcelona president Joan Laporta has taken a swipe at Real Madrid after they signed Kylian Mbappe in a sensational free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain.
Mbappe’s move to the Spanish capital was finally confirmed on Monday, with the French World Cup winner signing a five-year deal with the La Liga champions.
The 25-year-old, who spent six years at PSG, will earn almost £13m a season in wages and £128m in an extraordinary signing-on bonus to be paid over five years.
The transfer is bad news for Real Madrid’s domestic and European rivals, as a team who just a few days ago won yet another Champions League has been bolstered by one of the best players in the world.
Nou Camp chief Laporta admits Mbappe’s move is ‘not good news’ for Barca fans but has aimed a dig at Real Madrid over the transfer strategy that brought the Frenchman to the Bernabeu.
‘As a Barcelona fan, it’s not good news to see Kylian Mbappe at Real Madrid,’ Laporta told Mundo Deportivo.
‘But to be honest, I prefer our strategy to trust a project with players produced and made in La Masia. I respect our rivals but I keep our philosophy.’
Real Madrid finished ten points above Barcelona in La Liga last season before lifting a record-extending 15th Champions League trophy.
Barca recently appointed former Bayern Munich boss Hansi Flick as their new manager after sacking club legend Xavi a month after saying he would stay.
Lifting the lid on Barcelona’s managerial U-turn, Laporta said: ‘Xavi told me that he trusted this team, but then some of his statements looked like he changed his speech.
‘It caused me to rethink… and I had the feeling that I had to do a change, also with the same feeling shared with the board.’
On the appointment of Flick, Laporta added: ‘I started thinking of Flick as a possible Barca manager since I re-joined the club.
‘He started studying the team right after Xavi’s announcement. All the reports we have on Flick were super positive. Deco and Bojan also had same feeling, Flick had to be our coach.’
Meanwhile, Mbappe has described his move to Real Madrid as a ‘dream come true’.
The French forward scored a staggering 256 goals in 308 appearances for PSG and helped the club win six Ligue 1 titles. But he was unable to fire the side to European glory, losing the 2020 Champions League final to Bayern Munich.
‘Nobody can understand how excited I am right now,’ Mbappe posted on Instagram after his move was confirmed. ‘A dream come true. So happy and proud to join the club of my dreams.’
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