Barcelona president Joan Laporta was reelected after beating Victor Font on Sunday and can lead the membership till 2031. Photograph: AFP
BARCELONA:
Joan Laporta was reelected as Barcelona president on Sunday, defeating Victor Font to remain answerable for the Catalan giants till 2031.
The charismatic 63-year-old, who additionally beat out Font within the 2021 election, will reclaim his place in July after resigning a number of weeks in the past as a part of the electoral course of.
Round 42 p.c of Barcelona membership members voted — translating to 48,480 votes. Laporta triumphed by 68.18 p.c to Font’s 29.78 p.c.
“This consequence makes us very completely satisfied and offers us plenty of power, quite a bit, a lot that it leaves us speechless,” Laporta informed reporters.
“Nobody will cease us. I’m certain that within the coming years, as I’ve mentioned to you, we now have some thrilling instances forward.”
Laporta mentioned the membership would give attention to finishing the partially-rebuilt Camp Nou stadium, now slated for completion in 2027, a yr later than deliberate, in addition to persevering with to defend the membership towards perceived outdoors assaults.
“(Membership members) have voted for our proposal, which was that every one of us collectively ought to defend Barca towards all the things and everybody,” added the reelected chief.
He additionally thanked coach Hansi Flick and sporting director Deco, who helped the membership win a home treble final season.
Laporta beforehand led the membership between 2003-2010, in arguably Barcelona’s golden period, throughout which they gained the treble with Pep Guardiola on the helm in 2009.
Gamers voting
A number of Barcelona first-team gamers and Flick headed to vote after the group’s 5-2 victory over Sevilla earlier on, with Laporta becoming a member of them on the poll packing containers.
Former Barca midfielder Sergio Busquets, three-time ladies’s Ballon d’Or winner and star of Barca Femeni Aitana Bonmati and former participant and coach Xavi Hernandez have been amongst different membership members casting votes.
Voting cubicles have been arrange at Camp Nou, in addition to different Catalan cities Girona, Tarragona and Lleida, and in Andorra.
Laporta was seen celebrating lengthy earlier than the votes have been counted, in addition to dancing with Barca gamers after their emphatic win at Camp Nou.
The lawyer, who was elected in 2021 after pledging to maintain celebrity Lionel Messi on the membership — which he was unable to do — helped Barca keep afloat regardless of inheriting a monetary disaster.
Laporta controversially offered off future tv rights and elements of the membership to generate funds to signal gamers together with Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha in the summertime of 2022.
Barca gained La Liga titles in 2023 and 2025, and with coach Flick on the helm returned to the Champions League semi-finals final season for the primary time since 2019.
Laporta was criticised in some quarters for becoming a member of forces with Actual Madrid chief Florentino Perez to try to make the doomed European Tremendous League mission occur. Barcelona lastly pulled out of it earlier this yr.
Throughout Laporta’s first spell as president he oversaw a joyous interval for Barca, together with the arrival of Brazil star Ronaldinho, the membership’s best ever participant Messi rising and two Champions League triumphs in 2006 and 2009.
Defeated candidate Font mentioned he would love the election course of to be modernised, permitting members who stay removed from Catalonia to vote with out having to journey.
“The turnout is probably the most destructive side of the day — we’d have liked for it to be larger as a result of we consider the membership must be extra participatory, as with voting by mail,” mentioned Font.
“Extra participation means extra power.”
