A furious Rafael van der Vaart destroys Barcelona 'mafia' in explosive rant live on Dutch TV
Rafael van der Vaart unleashed his most explosive rant yet prior to Barcelona's La Liga opener against Rayo Vallecano - dismantling the entire club.
The Catalan giants are struggling financially, but have still managed to add Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen, Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Jules Kounde to their squad this summer.
To do that, they've had to activate a number of economic levers and are currently at odds with players in regards to their status at the Camp Nou.
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Frenkie de Jong and Martin Braithwaite are refusing to leave while the Blaugrana are desperate to shift their massive wages.
Van der Vaart isn't one to mince his words and during an appearance on Dutch television, he didn't hold back.
The former Real Madrid midfielder called Barcelona president Joan Laporta an 'idiot' while comparing the club to a 'mafia'.
Per TheEuropeanLad, van der Vaart said: "How on earth can you buy players when you have no money? I find it a disgrace. And Laporta who keeps laughing everywhere with his big head. This man thinks he's the king. But I think he's a bit of an idiot."
He then addressed the treatment of de Jong, who saw his game time dramatically decrease in pre-season.
The Netherlands international was even played in central defence and van der Vaart believes his fellow countryman is entitled to stay in Catalonia as long as he pleases.
Van der Vaart continued: "You can't treat people like this. Frenkie earns too much? You sign a contract and then you fulfill the contract or leave on good terms, but not like this.
"This is mafia and they have to get punished.
"Barca's name on the map has become really bad. It's a great club and everyone wants to play there.
"But as of now we judge it differently and I find it a disgrace when you play for them."
There were questions surrounding the registration status of Barcelona's new signings earlier this week and Kounde still remains unregistered.
He didn't feature against Vallecano, who managed to hold Barcelona to a 0-0 draw despite the home side registering a whopping 21 shots.
Christensen, Raphinha and Lewandowski all started while Kessie came off the bench in the second half.
Sergio Busquets was send off in the dying embers to cap off a frustrating evening for Xavi's side.
Topics: Rafael van der Vaart, Frenkie De Jong, FC Barcelona
Daniel Marland