FC Barcelona were the main attraction at the Gran Gala organised by Mundo Deportivo newspaper this Monday 22 at the Palau de Congressos de Catalunya. There were five group or individual prizes collected by FC Barcelona as a club, Marc Andre Ter Stegen, Robert Lewandowski, Salma Paralluelo and Nico Laprovittola.
President Joan Laporta was accompanied by several members of his board: Rafael Yuste (vice president of the Sports Area), Elena Fort (vice president of the Institutional Area), Juli Guiu (vice president of the Marketing Area), Josep Cubells (head of Basketball), Xavier Barbany (head of Roller Hockey), Aureli Mas (Head of Futsal), Xavier Puig (head of Women’s Football) and Joan Solé (head of handball), as well as Deco de Souza (Director of Football) and Enric Masip (member of the President’s Office).
Six out of six
Last season, FC Barcelona won all six of the pro leagues in which it competes, men’s and women’s football, basketball, roller hockey, handball and futsal, and Mundo Deportivo honoured the achievement with a special award for president Joan Laporta, who said “the six cups are the reward for the hard work of the athletes, who gave everything they could. The club can feel very proud of this historic achievement”.
Lewy and Ter Stegen collect fruits of 2023
The Barça keeper was named La Liga MVP following a year when he conceded just 13 goals in 34 games, and kept a staggering 26 clean sheets. On collecting the award, the German stopper said “I am feeling good about my recovery, I can’t wait to be back and enjoying wins like the one yesterday.”
Meanwhile, the Polish striker collected the prize for leading the league goalscoring charts with 23 goals. He said this evening that “with the whole team united until the end of the season, we can win something.”
Women and basketball
There aren’t many award ceremonies these days that don’t involve a member of the women’s football team collecting some accolade or other, and this time it was the turn of Salma Paralluelo. The striker was recognised as the Barça and Spain breakthrough player of the year. “The Super Cup was the first target of the season” she said. “But we are ready to aim higher. We are excited about what’s left of the season and hopefully we can celebrate every one of the titles.”
And there was also an award for basketball’s Nico Laprovittola, nominated for being one of the cornerstones of a team that achieved great things last season.
