Barcelona chief: Broadcasting deal makes Premier League our biggest rival

The Catalan giants face Arsenal in the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie in London tonight

The Premier League trophy (Getty)

Barcelona consider the Premier League to be a more considerable threat to their future than bitter rivals Real Madrid, club president Josep Maria Bartomeu has revealed.

The Catalan giants face Arsenal in the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie at the Emirates tonight hoping to progress toward an unprecedented second successive European title.

Premier League clubs will share a honeypot of £5.136bn for domestic television rights in the 2016/17 season in a deal - involving broadcasting rivals Sky Sports and BT Sport - which places English clubs firmly at the top of the financial ladder.

“[They] will have an incredible financial situation from now on and we are worried,” Bartomeu told BBC Sport. “The Premier League is the best football competition. It has the most interest for fans and most revenues. They are doing things good and keeping teams in the competition where everyone being equal is of interest for everybody.

“We have different budgets in Spain and it would be difficult for someone like [current Premier League leaders] Leicester to be top of the league.

“Our rivals are the Premier League, they are the big adversaries. We have to do our best to increase our revenues and our financial situation to make the talent of our teams stay with us.

Leicester City's Riyad Mahrez curls the ball into the net during their 2-1 victory over Chelsea in December (Getty)

“That is why I am so worried and we are working on this. We want to keep the talent at home. I know our players are in touch with other clubs, it's normal. None of our players said they want to leave.

“Most get better economical offers, but our players are not in Barcelona for the money, they are there because of the football and the fans' commitment.”

Former Barca manager Pep Guardiola is planning to switch from Bayern Munich to Manchester City in the summer and will link up with chief executive officer Ferran Soriano and director of football Txiki Begiristain who both previously worked at Barcelona.

But Bartomeu does not believe City are trying to copy his club’s strategy: “I don't think City are replicating anything. Like a lot of clubs in the world, they have a project to make the club grow.

Barcelona players including Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez celebrate winning the Champions League in 2015 (Getty)

“Some of their people used to be with us at Barcelona and they are bringing their experience to the club. This is normal because in Europe there is the movement of professionals from one to another.

“Pep will do well at any club, he is a very good coach and did a fantastic job at Barcelona. He was in the playing arena for years and I had the privilege of working with him for two years. He has very good ideas for football which he brought to Bayern and now City.

“They are not copying, they are evolution of an idea and Pep will do it great. The Premier League will have the advantage of having one of the best coaches in the world.”