Laporta’s banner at the opening of Barca store in Madrid: “Raul is Culé”

FC Barcelona have opened a new store today in the heart of Madrid. The club kept the opening a secret and surprised passerbys with a large and controversial banner. The large banner attracted attention with the claim: “Raúl is culé”.

This is not Laporta’s first attempt at rolling out a controversial banner in the middle of Madrid. He did the same during the presidential race, by hanging a giant poster just 200 meters from the Santiago Bernabéu : “Looking forward to seeing you again”, was the message at that time.

The latest controversial banner is located in Atocha, directly in the heart of the capital. The new store sits just 50 meters from a nearby official Real Madrid store. Laporta chose one of Madrid’s most legendary figures, Raúl González, to provide the uproar and attention he desired from the banner. In addition to the Raul banner, there are two smaller posters in the shop windows that refer to both Iker and Guti as cules.

Real Madrid has had a club store in Barcelona for years, so the new store from Barcelona has been an idea that is arguably a long-time coming.