Despite the defeat to Real Sociedad, Barcelona’s management is confident that this loss is just a passing setback from which the team and Hansi Flick will learn during the crucial moments of the season.
Barcelona lead the La Liga standings with 33 points, 6 points ahead of their rivals Real Madrid, who are second with 27 points, although Real Madrid have a postponed match against Valencia.
According to information from the Spanish newspaper “El Nacional”, last summer, Marc Jurado made the risky decision to leave Barcelona and join Chelsea for 6 million euros.
The young striker, who was considered one of La Masia’s most prominent talents, believed that his chances of progressing within Barcelona would be limited with Robert Lewandowski in attack. Therefore, he chose to start his adventure in the English Premier League, hoping to play a prominent role in the ranks of the London team. However, things did not go as expected.
Since arriving at Stamford Bridge, Jurado has had great difficulty adapting to the atmosphere of the English Premier League. Despite his high expectations, the Catalan player has not had enough opportunities to show his talent, having managed to score just one goal so far this season.
The intense competition and style of play in the Premier League have made his adaptation process more complicated than he had imagined. This has led to some talk from those close to him about the possibility that his decision to leave Barcelona was a mistake.
At Barcelona, Jurado’s departure was a disappointment, especially since he was considered an emerging talent who could have benefited from being alongside Lewandowski, which might have provided him with more opportunities in the first team.
But President Joan Laporta’s position in such cases is clear and consistent: players who choose to leave Barcelona in search of money or quick adventures at other clubs usually do not find a way back to the club. Laporta has reiterated this principle on several occasions, and his attitude toward Marc Jurado was no exception.
For Laporta, loyalty and commitment to the Barcelona project are paramount. In his opinion, players who do not want to fight and wait for their chance in the first team show a lack of commitment to the values that form the foundation of wearing the Barça shirt. For this reason, the president has made it clear that as long as he is in charge, Jurado will not return to the club, regardless of his future career path.
Laporta’s firm stance is a clear message to the rest of the young players at La Masia: the fastest or most financially attractive route may be the one that is least compatible with their long-term development.