Barcelona president Joan Laporta hosted the club’s Christmas dinner on Thursday evening, an event attended by more than 500 employees.

Among them were the entire first team and members of the women’s football team, all gathered to celebrate the end of year holidays.

At the event, Laporta took the opportunity to toast the club’s future successes as he looked ahead to 2025, inviting the coaches and captains of both the men’s and women’s teams to join him on stage for the toast.

Appreciation for Flick

The evening saw Laporta surrounded by key figures, including sporting director Deco, first-team manager Hansi Flick and captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Flick, who is still relatively new to the club, took center stage alongside Laporta and was a key figure in the evening’s celebrations.

Laporta took a moment during his speech to highlight Flick’s positive impact, expressing that under his leadership enthusiasm had returned to the club.

“With Flick, enthusiasm returned to Barcelona; we feel capable of competing for everything again,” declared the president (quoted by AS).

A jibe to Xavi?

Laporta’s remarks included direct mention of how the atmosphere had changed with Flick at the helm, and some attendees couldn’t help but think there was an underlying message about the previous coach, Xavi.

It seemed that Laporta’s words were not only intended to praise Flick, but also to imply that the energy around the team had waned under Xavi’s leadership.

Meanwhile, apart from the stars of the first team, one of the most notable participants was Lamine Yamal, the young sensation who continues to make waves in football.

Despite suffering an injury to his right ankle, Yamal made sure to attend the dinner. Even if his mobility was somewhat limited, the talented striker remained in good spirits and wanted to reassure those around him that he would soon return to the field.