Mateu Alemany backtracks and decides to stay at Barça: "It's a last-minute personal decision"

Mateu Alemany, Barcelona's football director, has decided to back down to continue being part of the Barça sports structure 15 days after the club announced that it would terminate his contract on June 30.

Both from the Barcelona entity and from the executive's environment confirm Alemany's change of position, who had one more year left in his current position and who has decided to ignore the proposal made by Unai Emery's Aston Villa. “It was a personal decision at the last minute.. Or in the extension”, keep sources familiar with the process.

Aston Villa intended to announce the arrival of Mateu Alemany in Birmingham a week after the announcement of his departure from Barcelona was made public. The executive, in fact, met with the leadership of the English club, from where they even detected feeling between the parties. Alemany's change of position has taken Aston Villa by “surprise”, despite the fact that he never signed any contract.

Barcelona, which this Monday had to announce the departure of the sports director, Jordi Cruyff, who, unlike Alemany, did conclude his contract this summer, will thus reformulate a sports area in which the former footballer and now agent Deco will be integrated, whom Alejandro Echevarría, brother-in-law of Laporta and close to the Brazilian, has been advising.

Meeting with Deco and Echevarría

This same morning, Mateu Alemany met with Joan Laporta at the Camp Nou offices. There, he conveyed his intention to remain at the club to the president, with whom he has always maintained an excellent relationship despite the difficulties that the executive has encountered in recent times, with a growing role for various representatives and advisors.. Alemany, in fact, did nothing more than pick up Laporta's glove, who had already told him that the club's doors would remain open for him. Later, Alemany returned to the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper to meet with Deco and Echevarría.

Although Alemany had received a proposal in which Aston Villa was willing to give him full powers in sports management, the executive has ended up prioritizing his work in Barcelona. In fact, before announcing his departure -already interrupted-, he had already promised Laporta to help close the operations of this summer market.

At the expense of the fact that Barcelona has just ordered its new structure, also pending Deco leaving his responsibilities in his representation agency (with Raphinha as the main client), Alemany would simply continue with the same conditions established in his contract.