Barcelona president Joan Laporta has hit back at critics of the club who have been surprised at how Barcelona have been able to sign so many players this summer, amid talks of a financial crisis at the club.

Following the signing of Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann admitted his shock at how Barcelona could pull off the transfer.

Gary Neville had also slammed Barcelona over the salary saga with Frenkie de Jong.

Laporta has now fired back at Nagelsmann and other Barcelona haters.

When asked about Nagelsmann’s comments, Laporta said bluntly: “What I would ask is that [Bayern] look at their current account, they have received significant money from the transfer of Lewandowski.

“What they are doing is distorting reality. I respect everyone and I don’t interfere in the finances of others.

“I will give them the benefit of the doubt because maybe they thought that we couldn’t, but they haven’t gauged the strength of Barca and the drive of the new board. It’s a lack of recognition, a lack of information about our club.”

When asked for a more general message to the club’s critics, Laporta admitted that critics do not understand the strength of Barcelona and the club’s global appeal.

He went on: “Everyone knows that our demands are higher than those of others.

“We have more than 400m fans who demand more from us than others. The others know what they have to do, and if I don’t get involved in what others do, I would ask them not to get involved in what we do.

“We are going to compete on the pitch and we will see who has worked more and better. I don’t say this to start an argument, but they should worry about their own clubs.”

He added: “[Critics] have not understood the strength of Barca. To those who are surprised, I say that we are very awake. We are back on the market.

“The weight, strength and value of an entity with more than 122 years of history is a lot. Let us be calm, we can still surprise you much more.”