Barcelona president silent when quizzed about forcing squad changes for Royal Antwerp clash | OneFootball

Over the past couple of days, there has been a lot of noise surrounding FC Barcelona, and alleged concern growing in the administration about the team’s level.

This comes after the disappointing 2-4 defeat to Girona which has left the reigning champions seven points behind their Catalan rivals, who are at the top of the La Liga standings.

In the aftermath, there have been reports about some unrest within the dressing room as well as the board, especially with Xavi’s remarks of the team still being under construction.

With Barcelona facing Royal Antwerp in the Champions League, Xavi announced the squad list for the game on Monday, resting four key players.

But, on Tuesday, the list was amended with three of the four rested stars – Ronald Araujo, Robert Lewandowski, and Ilkay Gundogan getting added.

Soon, it emerged that Barcelona president Joan Laporta had forced Xavi to add those players to the squad as resting them after a defeat would send the ‘wrong message’.

Laporta responds with silence

In the aftermath of this development, Joan Laporta was asked whether he indeed forced Xavi to make the changes to the squad as was being reported in the media.

This happened when the Barcelona president arrived for the traditional pre-match lunch with Royal Antwerp officials earlier today in Belgium.

Usually happy to give titbits to the media, Laporta did not respond to the question and opted for silence, reports SPORT.

While it might not necessarily mean anything, the president’s silence on the matter does add a bit of intrigue to the entire situation.

Xavi’s entourage denies pressure from Laporta

However, earlier today, reports emerged claiming that Xavi’s entourage had denied any force or pressure from Laporta to amend the squad list for the Royal Antwerp encounter.

It was claimed that the decision was made unanimously, with Xavi, sporting director Deco, and Laporta all seeing it as the right course of action owing to the fact that the squad will be flying back to Barcelona on Thursday.