Barcelona presidential candidate Victor Font believes the Catalan club could face "economic bankruptcy and moral decay" under the current board.

Font, who has the backing of Barca legend Xavi Hernandez and is planning to stand in next year's elections as Josep Maria Bartomeu's mandate ends, sent an open letter to members and the media on Sunday.

"For some time now the project Sí al futur (Yes to the Future, in Catalan) has been warning Barça members that the Club was heading towards the “perfect storm” – it had to replace the best generation of footballers in history, build and finance the Espai Barça development project and compete against corporations with almost unlimited financial resources," it said.

And it warned: "If the risks were great, they have now become gigantic. We are in the midst of a pandemic that has brought the planet to a halt and will have effects in all walks of life, also in sport, that today we cannot yet foresee.

"Likewise, for months we have witnessed a shameful escalation of chapters in the Club’s institutional behaviour in which the latest event hides the seriousness of the previous one, a process that culminated in recent days with accusations and serious reproaches among board members, and six abrupt resignations."

Font went on to say the club is now in danger and believes a complete overhaul is needed to get Barca back on track – on and off the pitch.

"Just as the only priority should be to get the Club out of the crisis, the presidency announces a new remodelling of the Board of Directors in order to stay in power. What is at risk now is Barça as a whole," the letter continued.

"This is not a recent problem – we have experienced the sentencing of the Club in the Neymar case, the disagreements made public between employees and players with executives and managers, and the audit of the case on social networks, which seems will confirm the scandal.

"Let’s add an erratic sports policy, the breaking up of the Board of Directors and the significant reduction in income due to the pandemic, and the result is the danger of economic bankruptcy and moral decay in which the Club has settled. Game over.

"We need to start from scratch. The management model that in recent years has allowed us to be the best multi-sport club in the world no longer works. The lack of transparency, turning over more than anyone and yet spending it all, and having to sell or exchange players at the last minute of each season to balance exhausted accounts is unsustainable."

The letter called for the current board to explain the economic situation and debts, while asking for any unnecessary spending (including the Espai Barça project) to be postponed amid the coronavirus crisis and also demanded greater transparency.

"The Club’s management needs a transformation in the offices that is as brave, creative, innovative and successful as the one Johan Cruyff brought about on the pitch," it said.

"And this transformation is possible, because the power of Barça is enormous. But in order to achieve it we need to gather the best talent available among Barcelona members and the direct involvement of the sportsmen who starred in the best Barça in history."