Joan Laporta, the president of Barcelona, wanted to visit the team at the training ground this Saturday, hoping to fire up his players ahead of a huge clash with Atletico Madrid. The two sides meet at Atletico's stadium on Sunday evening in La Liga, and it's a fixture that means plenty to the Catalan side.
Spanish newspaper "Mundo Deportivo" report that Laporta will travel to the capital on Sunday at the head of the Barcelona delegation. First, though, he used his Saturday morning visit to the Sant Joan Despi training ground to offer the players some moral support before the big game.
The Barcelona president backed his squad once again, even after two recent defeats, 4-2 to Paris Saint-Germain and 2-1 to Real Madrid. He also sat down with Hansi Flick and sporting director Deco.
Visits like these are a Laporta habit before the big matches. He leaned on them heavily last season, after winning the club presidency in the elections of 15 March 2026.
As the newspaper noted, Laporta hasn't had the chance to join the Barca delegation on a trip since the visit to Paris. The matches that followed, against Real Madrid (2-1), Deportivo Alaves (6-1) and Aston Villa (3-0), were all staged at the Spotify Camp Nou.