Former Real Madrid defender Christian Panucci believes Joan Laporta's return will be good for Barcelona.

Panucci was commenting on Barca's Champions League round 16 tie with Napoli.

He told Marca: "I will not give any advice to (Barca coach) Xavi. He doesn't need it. The only thing I can say is that they should be careful because Napoli is a quality team.

"I think Laporta is a fan who loves the club and will do what is best for the entity. It is not an easy situation due to the debt that has dragged on for several years, but he is a president who knows football, loves Barcelona very much and sooner or later, the truth is that I do not know in how many years, it will once again be one of the great teams in Europe.

"He needs time, the problem is that at Barcelona that time doesn't exist because he has to win every year. All the big clubs in the world need success every season."

On Xavi, Laporta said: "Xavi has a lot of experience and knows perfectly what the Barça world is. He knows the environment that is breathed and this facilitates everything. But like Laporta, Xavi also needs time because at the moment he can't sign the best players.

"In these weeks the team has improved and has risen in the table. We will see if next year it can be a protagonist in the League because that is the process: first you have to be a protagonist in your national competition and then in Europe."