Barcelona president Josep Maria Batomeu has spoken of the online PR scandal now engulfing his regime.

Bartomeu has confirmed they will defend themselves as much as they feel necessary.

Bartomeu was at the centre of the episode, with it suggested that these services of PR company 13Ventures actually served to publicly cleanse the image of the current president.

"I claim the club model that we have at Barcelona, we have traditions and we will defend ourselves as much as we feel necessary against those who accuse us of such practices," Bartomeu detailed at a press conference.

"It is true we hired this company in 2017, however if one of these companies had made improper comments, we would have terminated the contract instantly.

"We merely have commissioned the monitoring of social networks, we haven't commissioned anyone to discredit people, we will persecute those who accuse us of these things, we do things with the transparency and responsibility that Barcelona require."