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What's the story?
Former Barcelona president Joan Laporta believes that the Catalan giants have lost their "genuine style of football" in recent years, stating that the team has moved away from the principles that originally defined the club.
In case you didn't know...
Laporta presided over Barcelona between 2003 and 2010 and was responsible for appointing Pep Guardiola as the first-team manager after the club's disastrous 2007-2008 season.
Having been given the opportunity of a lifetime, the current Manchester City boss spear-headed a unique brand of football that captured hearts across the globe.
Guardiola established the core principles of his mentor, Johan Cruyff, in the team's tactics and created a ground-breaking archetype for modern football.
The Spaniard has since left Camp Nou and Barcelona is currently under the guidance of Ernesto Valverde, who has been under the microscope for his approach.
While Valverde led the Catalan giants to a consecutive La Liga title, he failed to guide them to the Champions League trophy in a season that was believed to be the ultimate opportunity for them to achieve European glory.
The heart of the matter
Laporta has lamented the team's tactical changes in a frustrated rant, telling Sport English,
"Mes que un Club is not a slogan, it’s a declaration of principles. We have a reference which was the genuine style of football which Johan Cruyff taught us (...) we bet on the academy and now the club’s moved away from that."
"We did it because it was a way of being consistent with what we are, for the genuine style of playing football. Time has proved us right, they (the players and the coaches) were the real architects of that success."
What's next?
Having already won La Liga, Barcelona will hope to achieve a domestic double when they face Valencia in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday night.
