Johan Cruyff supports Joan Laporta's Barca presidential bid 'mostly because of the values'

For those who are unaware, former Barcelona president Joan Laporta announced in mid-June of his intention to return to the post he once held.

Last Monday, Laporta officially launched his Barca presidential bid.

During the launch, Laporta didn't hold back his criticism of current president Josep Maria Bartomeu, attacking the present-day authority for its sponsorship deals with Qatar and the legal debacle involving the signing of Neymar.

Whether or not Laporta can dethrone Bartomeu remains to be seen, but his bid received a massive boost from Johan Cruyff, who played for the Catalan club between 1973-78 before taking over as manager from 1988-96.

"I am with Laporta, mostly because of the values," Cruyff told assembled media, according to ESPN FC.

"Barca has lost them and before anything else there should be principles, values. Money is secondary. Values like La Masia have been lost. Before it was a magical word, now that has disappeared. In addition, Barca has by a long way won the world prize for being caught up in judiciary issues and that cannot be. We must take this seriously.

"The drive by Barcelona to help the world with UNICEF was the most powerful drive in the world. With this initiative the club won acclaim in a social context. But now it isn't there."

Laporta was president of Barcelona between 2003-10.