Laporta assures that the return to Camp Nou will happen "as soon as possible."

FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta has given an interview to Mundo Deportivo in which he makes his first statement since learning that the club will not return to the Camp Nou on August 10 to play the Gamper , as Barça itself had announced on June 25 with a video published on social media.

“We had information that the corresponding licenses would arrive in a timely manner. In fact, the building permit and the activity permit arrived, and the first occupancy permit didn't arrive. In my speech in the Barcelona Senate, I said that, if there are no unforeseen events, we will return to the Gamper Stadium. When the announcement was made about our return, I don't know if I said anything. They made me put my hand on the speaker,” Laporta asserted when asked about the return to Camp Nou. The Barça president declined to set a specific date for Barça to return to its stadium, but he assured that it will be “as soon as possible” and that the club is not considering a return other than “this season.”

Read also

However, Laporta did confirm that Barça has asked UEFA to "play the first Champions League match away from home." "We're increasingly developing a better relationship with UEFA. I greatly respect the work that Aleksander Ceferin, their president, is doing, and I think we can trust them. Ceferin is sensitive to Barça and its unique ownership model and understood our explanations," said the Barça president, referring to the 15 million euro fine imposed by UEFA on the club a few weeks ago .

"We're increasingly developing a relationship with UEFA. I greatly respect the work Ceferin is doing, and I think we can trust them." Joan Laporta

Laporta also spoke about the Barça transfer market after Marcus Rashford's loan from Manchester United was made official. The Barça president admitted there were "several options" to strengthen the forward line and that he is "very happy" with the Englishman's arrival because it was the option he liked the most. He also wanted to thank Liverpool striker Luis Díaz "for wanting to come at all times." Regarding Nico Williams, Laporta commented that in the negotiations "there was a lot of difference in terms of payment terms, the agent's commission, and a series of variables. Deco set a 48-hour deadline, and if they didn't accept our conditions, we wouldn't do the deal. In the end, it didn't happen."

We plan to have the Palau completed by early 2028.” Joan Laporta

The FC Barcelona president also spoke about the project to build a new Palau Blaugrana: "The preliminary project will be announced in the second quarter of next year, but there are some circumstances we have to take into account. Last night I was in a meeting related to all this. There are rumors that the NBA wants to land in Europe, and if that happens, the issue of the Arenas and Palau must be taken into account. We're monitoring this, but in principle we plan to have the Palau finished by early 2028." For the new construction, Laporta admitted that the possibility of a foreign investor assuming the cost of the work has been considered, but that the club will not share ownership.