This Saturday, Barcelona held its club assembly, where Deco delivered a speech. In the first part of his presentation, he summarized the club's work over the past year.
Deco's speech, first part:
Good afternoon, everyone. Ladies, gentlemen, members, delegates, board members, and Mr. President, good afternoon. As in previous years, I am here to give you a report, and I hope to have many more opportunities to address you in the future.
The daily sports work report is something we are proud of because we have maintained our consistent work trajectory over the years. It is very important to be able to come here and explain the work we are doing, so that everyone understands that we have a clear and precise work policy, and that all achievements are not accidental.
Everything that happens on the field during those 90 minutes is never by chance; behind it is the serious and extensive effort of the entire club, the board, the sports management department, the sports committee, and all staff members working on the front lines. Therefore, it is necessary to explain this clearly to everyone.
First, the organizational structure, which will see several adjustments this year that I will elaborate on later. The structure includes: the president, the vice-president, the sports management department that I lead, which oversees the first team and the youth academy. The Barcelona competitive team is coached by Hansi Flick. Although the sports committee members are not on stage, they are always at the club, working collaboratively with us and providing support every day.
Next, regarding player departures: Ter Stegen was loaned to Ajax; Araújo transferred to Liverpool; Casado was loaned to Deportivo La Coruña. This year also saw several permanent transfers: Ansu Fati permanently transferred to Monaco; Peña and Ferran Torres have also left the club.
Torrents went to Ajax, Tommy Moreno went to Braga, Héctor Fort went to Real Sociedad, and a number of young players including Álvaro Cortés, Guille Fernández, and Toni Fernández have also departed.
At Barcelona, all academy players dream of playing for the first team, but sometimes, due to limited playing opportunities, not all can remain. However, for the academy players we sell, we retain buy-back options and a percentage of future transfer fees, continuously preserving relevant rights.
I want to express my gratitude to two players: Rashford had an excellent season with us. The club made the decision for him to leave based on different team-building philosophies, but we thank him for all his contributions last season. And Lewandowski—he is a club legend, and in my opinion, he has undoubtedly been the world's top striker for the past 15 years. Thank you to these two players who have already left the club.
Next is contract renewals: Fermín has completed his renewal; he represents the future of the club. Last year and this year, we have continuously pushed for young player renewals: Christensen's renewal was completed in January; followed by the renewals of Eric García, Hansi Flick, Frenkie de Jong, and Hamza.
Regarding renewals, I can publicly state here: Raphinha's renewal has progressed significantly. Yesterday afternoon, we reached an agreement. If I'm not mistaken, Raphinha has renewed until 2029, and he will stay at Barcelona for the next four years. Additionally, there are the renewals of Bernal and Esparto, with the administrative procedures to be completed this week. We have finalized the renewals of these three players this week.
New signings this year: Livaković, Cancelo, Gordon, Adeyemi, Rodri, Jesus, and Bissouma. If I haven't miscounted, that's a total of 7 new players. We are satisfied with everyone, and each brings value to the team from different dimensions.
We know that this year we must strengthen the squad, inject new vitality, and complete personnel changes to achieve all the goals and challenges set by the club. After significant hard work, we have successfully brought in high-caliber players who genuinely improve the team's strength.
Speaking of La Masía, it is always our honor to see young talents like Esparto and Fariñas, and previously Casado and Gavira, rise to the first team and establish themselves. This board has repeatedly emphasized since taking over the club that La Masía is a core objective of the club.
Barcelona relies on both players developed within La Masía and excellent external players. When our own academy talents rise to and establish themselves in the first team, it brings great pride to the entire club. Xavi Pascual and Bernal are two players promoted from the academy to the first team this season.
Coach Hansi Flick's staff has completed all renewals. In addition to the head coach himself, assistant coaches Sorg, Toni Tapalovic, and Westermann, new physical trainer Benjamin Kugel, and Pepe Conde continue in their roles. Many people don't pay much attention to the coaching staff, but for us, this has been a crucial part of our development work over the past few years.
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