Former Barcelona coach Johan Cruyff is backing Joan Laporta to win the club's presidential election on July 18 because of his determination to restore important values that have been lost.
Laporta, 52, served as president of Barca from 2003-2010 and is among five men in the running for the Catalan outfit's top position.
And now, just several weeks after Barcelona completed a Treble-winning season, Cruyff has revealed he thinks there has been an erosion in the moral standards of the club since Laporta's departure.
"I'm with Laporta above all for the values," Cruyff said in an interview with Marca. "First we have to evaluate how Barcelona was in 2003, before he came in and then the situation when he came out.
"You see what he did and he had courage. In the club departments, in the education of sportsmen, with the children around the world wearing a jersey for UNICEF, the development of [Barca's football academy] La Masia in the entire world. Those are the values and I support them."
Following Laporta's exit, Barcelona took a controversial decision to end their long-term stance of refusing commercial shirt sponsorship by signing a record £125 million deal with the Qatar Foundation in December 2010.
The same year, the doors of La Masia closed and the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper took over the function of the residential centre for the Barca youngsters.
"In my mind, values before money must always prevail but never the other way round," Cruyff said. "Above all are the principles and values. Money is secondary.
"Values are basic things not just in elections but in life. I do believe this election is very important. From a sporting point of view, it has been an exceptional year, with good football and titles. It has been perfect. But that is not the only thing. We have lost values like La Masia.
"The push that Barcelona gave helping the world with UNICEF was the biggest push in the world. With that initiative, they won a bigger presence from a social standpoint. La Masia doesn't exit and UNICEF is no longer present."
Barcelona's reputation also suffered last year when FIFA imposed a year-long transfer ban on the club for breaching the rules on the signing of under-age players.
Barca cannot field new players until January 2016 and, additionally, the club has also come under fire for the way it completed the transfer of Neymar from Brazilian club Santos in 2013.
Former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell faces legal action over the signing of the Brazilian striker and Cruyff believes the club are delivering the wrong message. "Barca have won at length the world award for tweets regarding legal issues and this cannot be," he added. "There are a series of norms that cannot be breached.
"Everyone is delighted at how Barcelona plays. But one thing is how the first team works and another how the club works. They are different things. The first team has won everything but the club, however, has dropped down a level. This is a problem."