The president-elect maintained a close relationship with Márquez at the Barça club and offered flattering concepts about the future that the now American striker had in his beginnings.
Joan Laporta will live a second stage as president of Barcelona, The first of them, between 2003 and 2010, was marked by the presence of Mexican players in the Barça squad, in which he highlighted Rafael Márquez, Even the manager went so far as to declare his desire to find a ‘Hugo Sánchez’ for Barcelona in the face of the promising career of Young people and Jonathan dos Santos.
In 2007, the Barcelona made a tour of Asia in which Giovani dos Santos was one of the novelties, as he arrived as U-17 world champion and was one of the most important prospects of the Masia, so journalist Diego Laje asked the manager about the future of the biggest of the brothers, “Do you think he can have more name than Hugo Sánchez in Spain and in the world?”.
“I hope you have as much name or more than Hugo Sánchez because he is a reference Mexican player, at the moment we are having the satisfaction of having a Rafa Márquez as a Mexican reference player who plays for Barça and I think Giovani is destined to be one of the great Mexican players, Which are of reference, which in this case we also have the fortune to play for Barça. We have to keep an eye on him because he is still very young, but playing apart from the players he is playing with, I think he will improve his quality, which is very big. “
Laporta began his first term as president of Barcelona in 2003 and one of his first signings was that of Rafael Márquez, Who in the same year left Monaco to defend the Catalan squad after a promise that Joan made to representative Jorge Mendes.
“Two weeks go by and the receptionist tells me he’s carrying a guy and he says he has a meeting with you, however, I hadn’t stayed with anyone but he told me it was someone coming from Monaco and then I started dating the story He came in (Jordi) and says to me, ‘President, here tinc the letter from Monaco sold to Rafa Márquez for five million euros“And the negotiations with the others stopped and we signed Márquez.”
Four years after the arrival of Márquez, who won titles with the Catalans, he appeared Giovani dos Santos in the star template of the BarcelonaHowever, he only belonged for one season as he was sold to Tottenham, however, his brother Jonathan stayed at La Masia and made his debut in 2009.
Laporta’s first term as president of the Catalans ended in June 2010 and a month later Márquez left the club to sign with the New York Red Bulls of MLS, While the youngest of the Dos Santos remained in the team until 2014, when he signed with Villarreal.
The relationship between Laporta and Márquez is still alive, Even the ‘Kaiser’ supported the Spaniard during his candidacy for the presidency of Barcelona, as Joan won last Sunday.