After a working dinner with Mendes, Barcelona president Laporta was interviewed by journalists present. Speaking about Rodri, he praised his maturity, leadership, and team spirit, stating that while Rodri is not yet at 100% fitness, he has already demonstrated a very high level of performance.

Rodri has made clear that Barcelona is backing Lamine Yamal for the Ballon d'Or, and he agrees with this approach. Will Barcelona fully support Yamal this year?

Of course, we will support all Barcelona players. Among the nominees, Cubarsí was nominated for the Young Player award, Rodri also received a nomination, and there are others. However, Yamal has achieved these results at Barcelona. He has won the Best Young Player in the World award two or three times.

Moreover, Rodri is a very rational and mature person; he is also a leader. For an award to which he himself was nominated, his ability to express such a position says a great deal about the character of person Rodri is. That's exactly what kind of person Rodri is. We are truly very satisfied with him.

(Note: Rodri stated in an interview with 'La Vanguardia': "I have always said that I play and compete to win collective titles. I feel that individual awards don't depend on oneself, but on the decisions of others, and for this award, it's the decision of 100 journalists. There's not much more to say beyond that. The club chose to support Yamal because they believe he is the most deserving player for this award, which is completely reasonable.

From then on, I hope a Spanish player finally wins. I believe Spanish football should be recognized again because winning the World Cup is the greatest achievement in football. And it's not just about winning itself, but also how we won, right? I think that also says a lot.").

President, let's talk about this signing.

Wow, everyone saw his performance a few days ago. He played exceptionally well in almost every match. And some people say he's not yet at 100%. I don't even know what he'll be like when he reaches 100%, but the fact is he's already playing at a very high level.

At the same time, he is also a person with great team spirit. I know other things about him that also demonstrate this team spirit of his, which is truly admirable. The thing is, the other side also wanted him at that time, so now they might be a bit... (laughs). But now he's with us.

He ultimately chose Barcelona. He had other offers at the time, but ultimately decided to join Barcelona, which of course makes all Barcelona fans very happy. So everyone welcomed him with open arms and gave him all the respect he deserved. I think he brings us maturity and experience, and he will also keep the entire team and squad sharp and focused, as Flick said.

Should we keep our feet on the ground? Of course. To achieve goals, you have to put in hard work, and that's what we'll do.

And we have a group of players like this—it's an excellent team. The competition within the squad is also very fierce; I believe almost every position has two, or even three, players who can compete, which makes our overall competitive level very high.

Traducido por IA.

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