Rabat – Barcelona President Joan Laporta has expressed strong confidence in Hansi Flick’s team, claiming the Catalan club are currently producing the best football in Europe and the world ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League meeting with Galatasaray.
Speaking in Istanbul before the Matchday 2 fixture, Laporta praised Barcelona’s performances while acknowledging Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich among the other major contenders for European honors.
“Barça, with all due humility, are playing the best football in Europe and the world,” Laporta said. “There are other very good teams, like PSG and Bayern Munich, and they are also contenders to win competitions.”
Laporta stopped short of labeling Barcelona outright favorites for the Champions League, instead describing them as candidates and confirming that winning Europe’s premier club competition is one of the team’s main objectives this season.
Laporta credits Flick-Deco partnership
The Barcelona president attributed much of the club’s strong form to the atmosphere inside the dressing room and the working relationship between Flick and sporting director Deco.
Laporta said Barcelona have built a competitive squad in which players coming into the starting lineup are performing well, while those outside the team are pushing to earn opportunities.
“The key to everything is having team spirit and a good atmosphere in the dressing room,” he said, adding that the combination between Deco and Flick is “working.”
Barcelona have won all nine of their competitive matches at the start of the 2026-27 campaign, including eight consecutive La Liga victories. Their league run has already matched one of the best starts in the club’s history.
They also opened their Champions League campaign with a commanding 5-1 victory over Feyenoord.
Laporta said the squad arrived in Turkey in a positive mood following an intense final training session and described the players as highly motivated for another European test.
Barcelona face Galatasaray at RAMS Park on Tuesday at 7 p.m. GMT, with the Turkish side looking to respond after losing their opening Champions League fixture, while Flick’s team seek a second straight victory in the competition.
