Balde insists Barcelona ‘not afraid’ of Real Madrid and backs himself to stop Yamal

Alejandro Balde says Barcelona will not be intimidated by Real Madrid next season despite their summer signings and the return of coach Jose Mourinho to the Bernabeu.

The 22-year-old defender, speaking to Spanish newspaper Sport, underlined that Barcelona are fully focused on their own performances rather than on what their rivals are doing.

“Real Madrid is Real Madrid, one of the best teams in the world, but we have to focus on ourselves,” Balde said. “If we do things the right way, we can achieve great things.”

He dismissed any suggestion that Barcelona approach meetings with their historic rivals in fear, stressing that reputations count for little once the whistle blows.

“We are not afraid of Real Madrid. Football is played 11 versus 11. When we are on the pitch, names don’t matter,” he added.

Balde: La Liga destiny ‘in our hands’

Balde believes the La Liga title race will be determined more by Barcelona’s consistency over the campaign than by the two Clasico fixtures.

“The Spanish league is long, and we only face them in two games. The fate of La Liga depends on us,” he said, arguing that Barcelona’s focus must be on maintaining their level across the entire season.

The left-back’s comments come against the backdrop of Real Madrid reinforcing their squad and turning again to Mourinho, who previously had a high-profile spell in charge in the Spanish capital.

Personal development the ‘first goal’

Looking ahead to the new season, Balde stressed that his primary objective remains individual growth and maturity as a player.

“My first goal, as it is every year, is to continue developing and learning,” he explained. “I am still a young player, I am only 22 years old, and I have a lot of room to improve.”

He framed his personal ambitions within a longer-term view of his career, suggesting that incremental progress season by season is central to his outlook.

“We want more”

On the collective front, Balde praised the work done under coach Hansi Flick and made clear that Barcelona’s squad is hungry for further silverware.

“We have had two great seasons with Hansi Flick, and domestically we have won almost everything over the last two years,” he said. “We want more, and we want to continue along the same path.”

The Spain international insisted that the mindset within the dressing room remains ambitious and that the team is targeting success on every front.

“We have to keep dreaming and fight for all the titles,” Balde concluded, setting out Barcelona’s intention to challenge across all competitions in the coming campaign.