Juan Laporta has rubbished suggestions that Barca's transfer policies are similar to those of arch-rivals Real Madrid.

The Catalan giants have received considerable criticism recently for their pursuit of Inter Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The main focus of the criticism is the perceived double standard demonstrated by the Barca hierarchy, who condemned the monstrous spending by Real Madrid, but are now on the verge of completing their own massive deal.

Laporta has responded defensively, claiming that the transfer policies of the two clubs are in fact very different, and that the deal for Ibrahimovic is nothing compared to Real Madrid's deals for Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo.

"(Real Madrid) are still the point of reference. The deal for Ibrahimovic occurs differently, because it includes a player being bought but another two players going in the other direction. It is different from the amounts involved with Real Madrid signings."

The Ibrahimovic deal involves not only a transfer fee in the region of £35million, but also sees Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto'o move in the other direction, with Barca teammate Alexander Hleb joining him at the San Siro for a year-long loan spell.