Barcelona sporting director is the most intelligent man in football, says Marseille president

Barcelona are tirelessly working on several operations, be it acquiring new sponsors or getting the contract renewals done. And one man who has been at the core of it all is a certain Mateu Alemany.

With several key players already tied up, the likes of Ronald Araujo, Gavi and Ousmane Dembele now sit next on the agenda. 

Alemany’s work certainly isn’t going unnoticed, with Pablo Longoria – President of Olympique de Marseille – praising his work in an exclusive chat with Agencia EFE. 

The former sporting director of Valencia says Alemany is the ‘most intelligent person in European football’.

“Barça is in the best possible hands. Mateu is a genius, he is the most intelligent person in European football. We are seeing the latest results from Barcelona and I am very happy for him because he deserves it,” Longoria was quoted as saying by Mundo Deportivo. 

Longoria and Alemany share a brief history together, having previously worked at Valencia between 2017 and 2019. During this time, the team won their first trophy – Copa del Rey –  in more than a decade.

“Any club in which Mateu can work as a leader, and with the freedom to do everything he has in his head, he will be at the top. He is a genius in management, in knowing how to read the small details, in making important decisions,” he added. 

After a brief hiatus between 2019 and 2021, Alemany returned to football, this time joining Barcelona as their sporting director.

“Mateu is a person who has had all the prospects within a football club, including being the owner of Mallorca. I highlight above all the ability he has to adapt to each of the circumstances and in the direction and natural tendency that football takes,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Longoria also shared his thoughts on Lionel Messi’s departure from Barcelona to PSG last summer. He said he expected Messi to end his career at Camp Nou.

“Whenever a player leaves who has participated throughout his career in the same club, the moment of separation is news that surprises everyone. 

“All football fans expected a Messi career with an end in Barcelona or a symbolic end at Newell’s for all that it means and that he never had the opportunity to develop playing football in Rosario,” he said. 

“With a player of the magnitude of Messi two years ago, none of us would have written this end of history,” he concluded.