Bartomeu: I’m convinced Puyol will return to Barca

Barcelona president, Josep Maria Bartomeu recently praised Spain’s Minister of Sport for his public defense of the club in the Neymar transfer case and his desire to renew Leo Messi’s contract next summer.


In an interview with TV3, Bartomeu began by speaking about Argentine forward, Leo Messi and the club’s desire to make him the highest paid player.
“We want him to be the highest paid player in the world and during the summer we’ll arrange everything.  We are all very involved in the competitions.  We won’t see him.  He is with us and I hope he retires at the Camp Nou.”
One man who won’t be retiring at the Camp Nou could be captain Carles Puyol, who has decided to forgo the final two years of his contract.
“I don’t know what he’ll do in the immediate future, but I’m convinced that he’ll come back to the club because he still has a lot to contribute.  He has been an example for everyone for his dedication and struggle. What he has achieved at Barcelona is sensational.”
Bartomeu then discussed Miguel Cardenal’s comments defending the club against strong opposition in regards to the allegations of misappropriation of funds in the transfer of Neymar.
“We’ve known him for years now.  He’s a person who is very concerned about the star of Sport in Spain. Barca is an example, we are current on all of our taxes and Cardenal knows that we have no debts to the Spanish tax authority.  We must separate sport from politics. Cardenal spoke about cruelty because he sees that the club is a model club.  He is someone who is very concerned about the debt.
“We were right and we did things well.  We were well advised.”