Xabi Alonso responds after Joan Laporta claims Barcelona have more ‘freedom’ at the club than Real Madrid

Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso has responded to a recent comment from Barcelona president Joan Laporta. The Catalans chief stated that Los Blancos have a feeling of power, while the Blaugrana represent freedom. He said:

“Real Madrid have a feeling of being close to power. We have a feeling of freedom.”

The comment soon went viral and was heavily dissected by both sets of fans. Xabi Alonso was asked his opinion on the matter in the press conference ahead of Los Blancos' FIFA Club World Cup game against RB Salzburg.

The Spanish manager gave an elegant response, as cited by Madrid Xtra, suggesting that Barcelona also have power.

“I don’t want to get involved, but we do have a sense of freedom & democracy, and they have some power. It goes both ways,” said Alonso.

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Real Madrid lock horns with the Austrian club on Thursday, June 26, at the Lincoln Financial Field. With Salzburg breathing down their neck in the group standings, Xabi Alonso's team need a win to guarantee their participation in the knockouts.

Barcelona, meanwhile, are not part of this summer's refurbished FIFA Club World Cup. The Catalans, though, are coming off a fantastic campaign under Hansi Flick, winning the league, the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa de Espana. The German manager also took his team to the Champions League semifinal, where they were undone by Inter Milan.

Does Pablo Garcia prefer Barcelona over Real Madrid?

Real Betis wizkid has revealed that he prefers Barcelona over Real Madrid. The teenage striker was recently on fire for his nation at the Under-19 Euros semifinal, scoring four goals against Germany.

A few hours after the game, Garcia was asked by COPE who he admires between the two Spanish giants. The Spaniard chose the Catalans, but insisted that he has no desire to leave the Benito Villamarin at the moment.

“Right now it’s not in my plans and I don’t think it’s going to be for a long time. I’ve been a Betis fan all my life, since I was in my mother’s belly,” said Garcia.

He continued:

“I have a preference, I’m a Real Betis fan because it’s the team of my life but I’m much more attracted to Barcelona. Here I always get together with La Masia players, who as well as being great players are great people.”

Real Madrid, meanwhile, have already signed Franco Mastantuono from River Plate this summer.

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Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written more than 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 20 million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

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Edited by Deepungsu Pandit