Barca chief Laporta upset by impending Dro switch to PSG
Barcelona's President Joan Laporta addresses a press conference at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on April 17, 2023. Barcelona president Joan Laporta said on April 16 that the courts had "nothing" against Barça in the refereeing scandal that has shaken Spain for two months. Laporta assured that he would "give all the explanations" about the role of FC Barcelona in this case. (Photo by LLUIS GENE / AFP)
Audio By Vocalize
Barcelona
president Joan Laporta said that teenage talent Dro Fernandez's decision to
leave the club for a planned move to Paris Saint-Germain, despite having
previously agreed a new deal with the Catalan giants, was
"unpleasant".
Central
midfielder Dro, 18, is poised to join French giants PSG, with Spanish media
reporting that they will pay Barca slightly more than his six-million-euro ($7
million) release clause as a goodwill gesture.
"We will
speak when it's all done, it has been an unpleasant situation," Laporta
told Catalunya Radio late on Sunday.
"It came as
a surprise because we had agreed on a different solution for when he turned 18,"
continued the Barca chief.
"Surprisingly,
his representative told us he couldn't follow through on what we'd agreed
to."
Laporta
indicated that Barca would be able to "change the situation as it was
presented" to them, seemingly referring to receiving up to 8.5 million
euros for Dro from PSG, rather than the figure stipulated in his release clause.
Dro, who is from
Galicia in Spain's northwest, joined Barcelona’s La Masia youth academy,
considered the best in the world, in 2022 and has since made eight appearances
for the club.
Earlier in
January, Barca coach Hansi Flick showed his disappointment at Dro's impending
departure.
"What I
want to say to the young players from La Masia, is we are Barca and one of the
best teams in the world," said the German coach, who handed Dro his debut
in September 2025.
"We give
them the opportunity to train with us, to grow, every day, with the best
players in the world. We give them the opportunity, we give them the support, believe
in them, the confidence.
"If you
want to play for Barca, then (do it) 100 percent with your whole heart. This is
what I want to say to everyone who is now with us, or in the future with us,
this must be 100 percent.
"These
colours, you have to live for them, this is what I want to see. All the others
I don't want, this is what I can say."


Leave a Comment