Laporta attended the European club gathering, Barcelona completely left behind Real Madrid

Sports Weekly Full Media Report

On Wednesday, Barcelona Chairman Laporta and Vice Chairman Just went to Rome to attend the European Football Club (EFC) dinner as guests. According to reports, more than 800 club representatives from Europe attended the event. When arriving at the hotel, Paris President Al-Khelaifi (who is also the EFC Chairman) gave Laporta a big hug and joked to the Barcelona Chairman: "Didn't you say you have no money? Why are there two more?"

Before heading to Cardiff When attending the dinner at the Baths of La Cala, due to the ongoing demonstrations in support of Palestine in the center of Rome, the road was blocked. Laporta and Al-Khelaifi had to get off the car and walk for half an hour to the party venue. On the way, the two also rode electric bicycles parked on the roadside to take pictures. Since two important figures were late, the opening ceremony of the dinner was also postponed.

On Tuesday, the European Club Association (ECA) announced that it would change its name to European Football Clubs (EFC). It is said that this change is to incorporate the word "football" into the name of the association to clarify its mission of representing, promoting and protecting football.

The possibility of Barcelona returning to the EFC family was discussed at the meeting. However, since Barcelona is still tied to Real Madrid in the European Super League project, it is not easy to escape. This time Barcelona only attended as an "invited guest". But as the saying goes, there are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests - since the European Super League cannot advance and the Champions League restructuring can bring in revenue, Laporta will naturally vote with his feet.

Laporta has recently had a high-profile friendship with Ceferin and has frequently interacted with Al-Khelaifi, which is seen as a harbinger that Barcelona is about to withdraw from the European Super League and re-engage with UEFA and EFC. Laporta no longer hides his close relationship with Ceferin, which was evident during Barcelona's match against Paris Saint-Germain last week, and now also his close relationship with PSG and EFC president Al-Khelaifi.

In this process, it is said that Atletico Madrid CEO Hill Marin also played an important role in bringing Laporta closer to EFC. Marin said in an interview with the Spanish EFE news agency that he "hopes that Barcelona can officially join the family of European clubs as soon as possible."

It is worth noting that UEFA recently approved and La Liga officially announced that the Barcelona vs. Villarreal league will be moved to the United States. Real Madrid subsequently sent a letter to UEFA, FIFA and the Spanish government to express opposition to La Liga's overseas matches. It seems that Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​who once came together because of the European Super League and the sale of leverage, are now parting ways due to differences in interests.