Espanyol sporting director Monchi has apologized to disgruntled club fans in an interview with Cadena SER over the controversy caused by his endorsement of Barcelona player Lamine Yamal for the Ballon d'Or award.

Speaking about the team's recent performances, Monchi said: "I care more about results than performances. Of course, the feeling from a few recent matches hasn't been good, especially against Elche. I think everyone agrees that our performance in that match didn't meet the standard required. The opposition played with 10 men for nearly the entire game, and we should have done much better. But before that match, I think the team had played some fairly good matches. So it's a matter of both results and performance, and I believe there are ways to address both. However, as I said at the beginning, this club has high demands. After several very difficult years, everyone hopes the team can have a relatively stable season. We hope to get back on track. I think we still have time and reason to believe we can do that."

Hours before this interview, Monchi had chosen Yamal when asked about his Ballon d'Or pick. Yamal plays for Barcelona, Espanyol's city rivals, and this answer drew criticism from some Espanyol fans.

On the matter, Monchi said: "Today someone asked me this question, and I caused a bit of controversy among Espanyol fans. If anyone was offended by this, I apologize to them. At the time, I was asked: 'Mbappé is French, Harry Kane is English, Lamine Yamal is Spanish, who do you choose?' Clearly I made my choice from the perspective of supporting a Spanish player. As an Espanyol member, I should have chosen anyone but Yamal, but I had no malicious intent. I know how much Espanyol fans love the club; from my first day here, I've shared that feeling, and I can feel it on the streets. Let me reiterate, if anyone was offended by my words, I apologize. At that moment, I was more focused on supporting a Spanish player when making that choice."

Speaking about Roberto Fernández, who has scored six goals in seven matches, and academy players who have been given opportunities under Manolo González, Monchi said: "To be honest, this is really the most positive aspect. Additionally, there's the emergence of young players like Javier Hernández, Roger Ibáñez, Marcos Fernández, and Rafael Buitrago. Roberto Fernández's performance has been particularly impressive, and I think he deserves it. He's a great guy and trains very hard. We really needed him this season because after Kike García's injury, we lacked options at center forward. He has taken on this role and responsibility, and has helped the team greatly."

Finally, regarding Bryan Zaragoza, who joined in the summer and is gradually improving his form, Monchi said: "The transfer itself was very complex because it required coordinating many interests, but it wasn't difficult to convince the player. I think he genuinely wanted to return to Spain. He also knew that Spain is the best environment for him to perform. His communication with Manolo has been very positive. I think we're gradually seeing the Bryan Zaragoza we want to see. In fact, he was clearly lacking fitness when he first arrived, but we believed he wanted to find the best position for himself at Barcelona, now at Espanyol; and we also believe he can provide a lot of help to the team."

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