The world of football knows many rivalries, and FC Barcelona is actively part of some of them. La Blaugrana have an old and rich history attached to their name, and that often invites competition. Beyond all else, Barcelona are one-half of the eternally contested El Clasico.
Alongside Spanish giants Real Madrid, the Blaugranes share a storied history. Always at each other’s throats, as they compete for titles and prestige, both clubs have a legacy of being among the sport’s most brutal adversaries.
However, they had improved relations in recent years. Joan Laporta and Florentino Perez, presidents of Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively, have had to put their differences aside at times. For the Super League project, in particular, it was necessary to do so.
Yet, despite those progressions, it seems that things have once again taken a negative turn. As highlighted by SPORT, both Presidents are currently locked in a ‘cold war’. Bitter with each other, they fail to even complete the most basic of gestures of decency.
In the latest Spanish Super Cup in Riyadh, cameras managed to catch something odd. Instead of sitting alongside one another in the box as Presidents and club owners usually do, both of them were separated by a massive distance filled with other people between them.
The reasoning for Laporta’s tensions with Perez exists primarily due to the Negreira case. Believing that the Real Madrid President is actively taking part in it and hoping to take advantage of Barça’s delicate situation, Laporta is not at all amused.
While both the clubs remain integral parts of the Super League project, it seems that tension is beginning to build. Without either of the two, the entire establishment falls, and that is something they can not allow. As such, it becomes a tense atmosphere in which both eternal rivals have to coexist.
It remains to be seen where things head from here. The Catalans and the Merengues will need to put their personal issues aside for the Super League to come to fruition, but at the same time, the sovereignty and respect of either club is too massive to be ignored as well.