Laporta - No regrets over Beckham

Barca agreed a fee with Manchester United for the transfer of Beckham, but the England skipper ultimately opted to snub the Catalans in favour of a move to arch-rivals Real Madrid.

While Beckham has been a huge success at Real, Barca's major summer import Ronaldinho has been arguably the player of the Spanish season so far.

Although admitting that, ideally, he would have liked to have brought both Beckham and 'Ronnie' to Camp Nou last summer, Laporta is adamant that the Brazilian was the more important of the two signings.

"The first option was always Ronaldinho, although if we had been able to bring Beckham and Ronaldinho it would have been better," stated the Barca supremo.

"He (Ronaldinho) has given back excitement and hope to Barcelona fans, and it was always easier for him to do that than the other player (Beckham)."

Laporta also attempted to play down the euphoria over his side's current superb run of form, and their chances of winning the Primera title.

"It's important to have restarted the debate over whether Barca can win the title," he continued.

"Obviously I want to win the league like all Barcelona fans. For me it would be an enormous pleasure.

"But you have to be realistic. There are two teams at the moment with better chances than us given that they are five (Valencia) and six (Real Madrid) points ahead of us."