Alfredo Di Stefano may have never played an official minute for FC Barcelona, but his controversial move to Real Madrid after seemingly choosing Barcelona would shape the future of both clubs in unimaginable ways. Francisco Franco favored Real Madrid and wanted to strip the Blaugrana of anything that would promote Catalan pride. While nothing has ever been proven, many in Barcelona believe that Franco had some involvement in the transfer saga of Di Stefano.
The Argentine had played a few friendlies with FC Barcelona, but issues between River Plate and Colombian side Millonarios as to who held the player’s rights allowed Real Madrid to step in and sign the player. The legend always held firm that he never had a personal stake in the politics of the transfer, but there is still a shadow over the odd negotiations between the four clubs and the final result.
From the murder of FC Barcelona president Josep Sunyol in 1936 to the transfer of Di Stefano, FC Barcelona have at times in their history found themselves in the headlines for political reasons and not just sporting ones.
The Barcelona Podcast duo discussed the difficult position of FC Barcelona between politics and sports in the latest edition of the ‘The Barcelona Podcast’ found here:
You can also listen to previous episodes of ‘The Barcelona Podcast’ on iTunes, Libsyn, Stitcher, SoundCloud or via your preferred podcast app.
The Barcelona Podcast is brought to you by Francesc Tomas (as seen in ESPN, The Guardian) and Dan Hilton (Barcablog). Listen in for our opinionated take on the hottest breaking stories from the Camp Nou!
