SPIEGEL: FC Barcelona are known for their many titles in men's football. Meanwhile, the women's team is one of the top teams in Europe. How did it happen that Barcelona decided to promote women's football?
Maria Teixidor: We support and invest in various sports, both professional and amateur. These include basketball, hockey, even skating. But our core is football. And there we have a bigger vision, we have to show that we go one step further. That's why we've turned our women's team into a professional section of our club. We are at a special moment in human history, and we feel the responsibility that we carry as the leading brand in football. Barça is one of the most popular clubs in the world. That's why we have to take our fans, our club members and part of society to this development. It has to change now.
SPIEGEL: Can you access the infrastructure that already exists for the men's team?
Teixidor: Yes, in 2015 we started to enable the women's team to do everything the men already had. The women's team is now training in the morning, not as in the late afternoon. They eat in our academy La Masia, just like the men's team. The club will provide them with nutritionists, psychologists and our medical department. This is an important part of our strategy: equipping women with the same tools as men. But in some areas the level is different: we can not pay our players the same salary, for example.
SPIEGEL: Why not?
Teixidor: That's just not the reality we live in. We have an annual budget of about 3.5 million euros for our women's team, the majority comes from our jersey sponsor. Our department does not make any losses, but not millions.
SPIEGEL: Was the next success in the Champions League semi-final against FC Bayern the greatest success for you?
Teixidor: Achieving the final was certainly a turning point in our history. I cried together with our club and vice presidents when we won the second semi-final against Bayern Munich. It was so emotional to see a project that has been advancing for years, reaching such an important point for the first time in history.
imago / Pro Shots
Lieke Martens is the most popular European footballer in social media
SPIEGEL: Her player, Lieke Martens, was World Player of the Year in 2017 and has become European champion with the Netherlands. In Barcelona, she studies sports management. Is that part of the club strategy?
Teixidor: Yes, we encourage our players to do so. It is also our duty because we know that not all of them can make the big breakthrough. We want them to be able to develop into personalities who are getting athletic and academic education. I think the players are aware of the fact that they will not finish their athletic career like men with full bank accounts. You are forced to a second career.
SPIEGEL: Do you think that women will someday be able to get out of active careers in a similarly prosperous way?
Teixidor: Until then there is still a long way to go. Full equality can only be achieved if women get the same attention as men when they make headlines and lure crowds into the stadiums. The viewers will also be joined by sponsors who will generate higher revenues and thus better salaries.
SPIEGEL: Can it also be a chance that players have not taken care of themselves at the age of 35 at the end of their career?
Teixidor: Yes, absolutely. We all live longer and longer and should consider our lives as a succession of different phases and occupations. We have to reinvent ourselves and be able to change. I love seeing our players read away, and when they can talk about different topics. I think that makes her happier in the end.
SPIEGEL: Measured by their performance in recent years, the German national team no longer seems to belong to the top nations. Has Spain already overtaken the DFB selection?
Teixidor: I think the quality level has just increased. I suppose that you relaxed a bit in Germany, because you had the feeling that you could always win. This happens easily when you reach a kind of comfort zone. The situation should be viewed positively: we have more high-quality women's football in Europe, which must be an incentive to develop and attack.
REUTERS / Albert Gea
Star player Graham Hansen at goal: Barcelona won its opening match in Spain 9-1 against CD Tacón, the future Real Madrid
SPIEGEL: Are Spanish players now football professionals?
Teixidor: In Barcelona, we have full-time work contracts for all our players, and they earn more than the official minimum wage. But some clubs can not afford that themselves. The Spanish women's league is still not professional. It is treated like an amateur league because the law only allows for a pro competition in every sport. And the men were there first. There are many things we need to talk about with our football association.
SPIEGEL: What exactly does minimum wage mean, how much do your players earn?
Teixidor: Everyone earns enough to live off football - it's more than the minimum wage across Spain. We talk about this when it comes to our commitment to professionalizing our team: We want our footballers to be able to dedicate themselves exclusively to their football career without having to earn anything from other professions.
SPIEGEL: Last season, Barcelona and Atlético set a world record with the highest number of visitors in a women's football match. More than 60,000 people came, most of them got free tickets. VfL Wolfsburg said it was a one-off public relations event and you should not give away your good product. What is your answer to that?
Teixidor: Even if it's a PR event - so what? The day after the game, media around the world reported on this record. The story went viral. People suddenly talked about our sport, which made it more interesting. Why should not we enforce that a bit? The men's football is like a big sun that blinds us to other sports. Maybe we should finally realize that other games are taking place and bringing people there.
SPIEGEL: When asked why Borussia Dortmund do not have a women's team, managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke recently said that his club does not have to participate in every sport.
Teixidor: I can see that differently. I believe that is part of our responsibility. Women have been demanding their rights for centuries, and now there are finally changes. They do not bother anyone, on the contrary, they benefit society as a whole. We have to embrace this moment, and we probably have to push some things to boost the sport.
SPIEGEL: Should the professional clubs in major European leagues be forced into a women's team?
Teixidor: I think that would be a good idea. Remember when helmets first had to be worn while riding a motorcycle. There was an outcry. Today nobody can imagine that at some point there were no rules. But the helmet prevents many injuries and deaths and benefits the whole society.
SPIEGEL: Women's football is not a matter of life and death now, is it?
Teixidor: The integration of women in all areas of life is a crucial issue of our existence. You can not leave half of the population outside. We need a holistic vision of the world for a better future. And I think that's what this is about. Football is a great tool to make the world a better place. It's bigger than just a game, a competition or a business. Boys and girls should also have female role models who inspire them to recognize their own potential.