Significant changes have taken place in FC Barcelona hierarchy in the last few months, one of them being the resignation of Jordi Cruyff as the Sporting Director. His replacement, Deco, while not having formally taken charge in his new position, is already heavily involved in the club’s business.
FC Barcelona have selected Deco to be the new Sporting Director after the departure of Jordi Cruyff, but, according to SPORT, his role would wield significantly more power than previous Sporting Directors at the club. Deco will formally join the club at the beginning of July, but he is already one of the main individuals undertaking business on the club’s behalf.
Deco will close down his agency, D20 Sports, by the end of June and meet one of the conditions of Barcelona to join the club. After that, he will again join the club he played for from 2004-2008, winning two La Ligas, two super cups, and one Champions League. Deco’s commanding ability on the pitch will now be seen in the boardroom.
While the former player has not formally joined the club, he has already won over the decision-makers at the Catalan club, particularly with his honest and straightforward style of explaining things. Laporta trusts Deco fully, and the latter also has a harmonious relationship with Alemany. Similarly, Xavi and Deco, who played alongside each other in Frank Rijkaard’s Barcelona team, also get along well enough.
Deco has already assumed several important responsibilities in the sporting department. He is the person who initiates contacts with a target, and Alemany undertakes the final negotiations as he is the financial expert. All players’ agents linked with Barcelona now have to go through Deco to get to the club’s top brass.
With his experience of playing for Barcelona and his strength of character, Deco is expected to shape the upcoming years for FC Barcelona. The former player will soon formally take charge at the club, but his influence is already being felt at the Catalonian entity.
