In his recent interview with Barcabuzz, former Barcelona president Joan Laporta shared his opinion on current coach Ernesto Valverde:

"First of all, he's a great man on a personal level. But I am as critical of him as you are as fans. I think you should follow the system and don’t spoil it. That’s what makes the difference, and it doesn’t matter if you play with a 343, 443 or 442 formation.


"With all the talent that we have at home, you have to use La Masia in order to sustain financially and football-wise. For me, it was a surprise [Valverde's arrival], although I knew that he was not the biggest supporter of the Cruyff system.

"But I thought that he would promote players from La Masia because I saw how he was at Athletic Bilbao. However, I think that part of it is the fault of the board who don’t encourage using the academy players enough.

"For example, Frank Rijkaard let Messi play at the age of 16. Another coach wouldn’t take that risk. But he did it also with Pedro. Also, Pep Guardiola sold Yaya Toure in order to make room for Busquets. And Yaya was an amazing player, but when you have a player from home who can do the job, you should promote him. A homegrown player has more respect and love for the club.

"Right now we have a board that prefers to go to the market and search for players. And Valverde is the type of coach who will never speak against the board.