On January 14, FC Barcelona failed to retain the title of Spanish super champion. It was in Saudi Arabia, when, with a hat trick from Vinícius, Real Madrid beat the Blaugrana (4-1) and won their thirteenth title in the competition. The white team received 5.1 million from the Federation for winning the trophy.
That same day, before the final, there was a relaxed meeting between two captains of FC Barcelona with president Joan Laporta at the Barcelona concentration hotel, the JW Marriot, the closest to the stadium where both the semi-finals and the final were played. the Super Cup: Al Awwal Park.
In that conversation, the captains probed the president to see if they could receive a bonus if they won the final against the eternal rival. Club sources assure that it was a relaxed conversation and that the players were not only seeking the financial reward for themselves, but also for the rest of the professionals who accompany the team on a daily basis. Between physical trainers, nutritionists, physiotherapists, the number of workers who share routines with the footballers that Xavi Hernández trains amounts to 30. In that conversation, the two important members of the squad also commented that the Real Madrid players would receive compensation economical in the case of winning the final.
President Joan Laporta spoke with his closest entourage and asked to confirm with Florentino Pérez, president of Real Madrid, if, in the event of winning, the white club had the intention of financially rewarding the squad with part of the 5.1 million euros. who entered for winning the title.
The response that the Barcelona club received is that Real Madrid would not distribute any bonus for winning this title. Although several reports claim that Florentino Pérez would have distributed 150,000 euros to the squad, sources from the white club maintain and assure this newspaper that "there are tournaments that have no bonus, and the Spanish Super Cup is one of them." A measure that is also applied at FC Barcelona and that was established by former football director Mateu Alemany when he arrived at the club.
The Spaniard was not only a key player in cutting the wage bill from the players' contracts. He also led a new, more austere policy that advocated eliminating easy-to-enforce economic variables. At Barcelona, players are only rewarded if they win titles such as the League or the Champions League.
In any case, president Laporta did not have to consider changing his initial plan, since the team did not retain the title.
