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Barcelona Had To Sell Stars To Restore Order – President Joan Laporta

Barca selling three of their key players under Frank Rijkaard made sense when Pep Guardiola took over...

Oct 21, 2009 12:24:23 PM

Liga: Ronaldinho and Eto'o, of Barcelona, against Zaragoza (AFP)

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Liga: Ronaldinho and Eto'o, of Barcelona, against Zaragoza (AFP)

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Joan Laporta has hinted that selling stars such as Samuel Eto'o, Ronaldinho and Deco was necessary when Pep Guardiola took over as it allowed order to be maintained within the squad.

The Barcelona president lifted the lid on the reason why the current coach announced that he wanted to sell the trio within days of taking over in 2008.

Though the move may have shocked many at the time, Laporta has now explained that new leaders were required, while rumours suggest that the older stars were becoming too powerful.

Ronaldinho was sold to Milan and Deco left for Chelsea. Neither enjoyed great seasons last time out. Meanwhile Eto'o persuaded the club to let him stay for one more campaign before being traded to Inter for Zlatan Ibrahimovic this summer.

"We were confident that Pep would bring order to the dressing room. We made some changes, recycling the team's leaders. We thought that was necessary," Laporta was quoted as saying by Sport.

"It allowed Guardiola to create new leaders, like Xavi, [Andres] Iniesta and [Lionel] Messi. But the result surpassed our expectations.

"We are confident that we will have another good season and will continue to win trophies."

Lucas Brown, Goal.com