Real Madrid and Barcelona share a rivalry that spans decades and is as much political as it is institutional or sporting. Barcelona have always framed themselves as the rebels of a liberative sort, and they have long painted Real Madrid as a symbol of establishment and power.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta is a prominent voice of this narrative. He relishes taking jibes at Real Madrid and inviting controversy under the guise of Catalan pride.
The last time Laporta made a comment suggesting that Real Madrid were “the team of the regime,” pointing to alleged ties with Spain’s Francoist dictatorship, Madrid replied with a hard-hitting video highlighting Barcelona’s own well-documented moments of favor under the dictator. It’s been over two years since that rebuttal, and Laporta has yet to respond.
Now, he’s at it again.
Speaking recently, Laporta claimed, “They [Real Madrid] have a close sense of power, and we have a sense of freedom.”
If that sounds familiar, it should. It’s a rehash of the old Catalan cry, pitting Barcelona as the champions of liberty and Real Madrid as the tools of central power.
Naturally, the comment attracted backlash. It quickly went viral and even entered the press room of Real Madrid’s current manager, Xabi Alonso, ahead of the upcoming Club World Cup clash against RB Salzburg, a tournament, worth noting, that Barcelona did not even qualify for.
Xabi Alonso shuts down Laporta’s bizarre claim
When asked for his thoughts on Laporta’s comments, Xabi replied, “I can imagine the context in which he said this, and I don't want to get into that, but we do have a sense of freedom and democracy, and, I imagine, they also have some power. This goes both ways.”
Perfect. That is exactly the kind of answer this sort of statement demanded.
Because let it be said, what Laporta said was a textbook case of a false dichotomy. He presented the matter as if there are only two mutually exclusive possibilities: that Barcelona represent freedom and Real Madrid represent power. As if both traits cannot coexist. But they do. And in abundance.
Both clubs are titanic institutions that benefit immensely from this rivalry, commercially, politically, and symbolically. Their identities are defined by it.
They both wield influence and both exercise a brand of freedom. To claim that one is the saint and the other the sinner is only misleading and manipulative.
So the claim that Barcelona are the saints while Madrid are the harbingers of the devil is false and fraudulent. It is, at best, absurd and Xabi perfectly portrayed that.
That is how you win a press room.