Barcelona on Thursday unveiled Brazilian international Paulinho while asking for respect from fans of the club.
Barca vice-president Jordi Mestre said the board would prefer “respect not insults” after the club unveiled the player as their fourth signing of the summer.
The Brazilian joined the Spanish giants from Guangzhou Evergrande for €40 million in a transfer which has sparked an online campaign calling for president Josep Maria Bartomeu to resign.
The campaign came as a result of a string of poor management decisions the club’s supporters feel the club have made, with the signing of a 29-year-old for such a high fee from the Chinese Super League deemed the breaking point.
Mestre said at Paulinho’s presentation, “Fans are free to express what feelings they want.
“We would prefer respect, not insults, but I have no knowledge that Bartomeu will resign [because of the campaign].
“There have been better times during our mandate, but we’ve come through difficult times. So we need to keep working hard and hope once again that things will work out for the better.”
The who also spoke with reporters said, “My life has always been about dealing bravely with challenges. I don’t like to talk about these things, but about what’s important, which is playing on the pitch and helping Barca win titles.
“Things that aren’t related to that don’t worry me. I just worry about doing my job properly, with humility. I am ready for this, that’s why I accepted [the proposal] to come here and to pursue my dream. Of course there’s pressure and there will be pressure. I’ve dealt with pressure before, but I feel I can deal with it.
“Economically, there are plenty of places I can go to make money but I am more concerned about my career.”
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