Ex-Barcelona president takes a dig at Real Madrid following the announcement of Eden Hazard

What's the story?

Former Barcelona president Joan Laporta has taken a dig against the Los Blancos following the Madrid side's announcement of completing the signing of Belgian superstar Eden Hazard.

In case you didn't know...

Eden Hazard had been linked to Real Madrid all season before the Belgian officially confirmed his move to the Spanish capital.

The Belgian will be the first Galactico signing for the Los Blancos since securing the services of James Rodriguez in 2014.

Joan Laporta served as the President of FC Barcelona between 2003 and 2010.

The heart of the matter

According to Spanish sports daily, Diario AS, the former Barcelona president Joan Laporta has taken a few digs at the Los Blancos following the announcement of securing the services of Belgian superstar Eden Hazard.

Laporta, who was speaking at a commemoration event for Johann Cruyff, spoke about the new Galactico when he was asked about the Los Blancos’ latest acquisition.

The 56-year old acknowledged the quality that Hazard would bring to the La Liga but criticized the Los Blancos' transfer policy and lack of faith in their younger players. He explained,

"He's a great footballer and he's going to make LaLiga even more competitive without a doubt; Real Madrid was forced to go to the market to look for signings."

"At least it is not the model that I represent. At Barcelona we have had another philosophy for a long time, which is to look for players from the youth academy."

"Besides, this way of going to the market to look for players does not guarantee anything either because this season we won LaLiga and Real Madrid were left with nothing.”

"It is evidence that they don’t put their faith in home-grown players."

"Hazard is evidence that Madrid don't put faith in home-grown players," says ex-Barça president..https://t.co/uIQsxellmQ

— AS English (@English_AS) June 8, 2019

What's next?

Real Madrid will start their preseason at the United States of America in the International Champions Cup against Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid. After that, they will face Tottenham Hotspur at the Allianz Arena in the Audi Cup.