- Joan Laporta has been re-elected as FC Barcelona president until 2031.
- The charismatic leader enjoyed a landslide victory with almost 33,000 votes obtained.
- His continuity means Hansi Flick is likely to stay in the dugout.
- Victor Font was gracious in defeat after losing to Laporta for the second time at the polls.
Joan Laporta has been re-elected as FC Barcelona president for a second consecutive term until 2031, and said that “no-one will stop us” after winning an election at Victor Font’s expense.
There was a 42.34% turnout among members, who headed to polling stations such as the one seen outside Access D at Camp Nou by those – including ReadBarcelona – who watched Hansi Flick’s men thrash Sevilla 5-2 while cheered on by an increased capacity of 62,000 fans and a roaring Grada d’Animació.
This wasn’t the only resounding victory of the day, however. As confirmed by an e-mail sent to members at almost 1AM local time in Catalonia on Monday morning, Laporta obtained 32,934 votes to rival Victor Font’s 14,385 representing a split of 68.18% to 29.78%.
“This result is overwhelming and gives us a lot of strength. So much so, that it makes us unstoppable. No one will stop us,” Laporta warned after learning of his triumph.
“We will continue to fight against everything and everyone. There are some exciting years ahead that will be the best years of our lives for Barça and its members. Visca Barça and Visca Catalunya!,” he added.
Font was gracious in defeat
Though there had been some ugly moments in the build up to the vote, Font was gracious in defeat. He even gave Laporta a hug, while telling him to “win the Champions League”.
“I want to congratulate Joan Laporta for an incontestable victory at the polls,” Font said. “I want to thank all the members who have mobilized themselves, that shows that we are the best club in the world. And also [thanks] to all those who have given confidence to the candidacy of change.”
“It’s more than obvious that we have not achieved the results that we needed. We expected them and you can understand that we are disappointed,” Font also conceded, while calling for the modernisation of the electoral process, which would allow for members that can’t attend a polling station to cast their votes remotely.
What now for FC Barcelona given Laporta has won another term?
On Sunday evening, now aware that he would be at the helm for another five years after originally winning a second tenure overall in 2021, Laporta said that “finishing the Spotify Camp Nou, building the new Palau, [and] continuing to strengthen the squad” were his priorities.
“In this I want to thank the team’s players for their participation. This makes a club and it has been shown that Barça is an institution. I was especially happy that they participated,” Laporta further stated.
Head coach Hansi Flick also cast his vote, and it was strongly reported that the German would step down from his four-trophy haul if Laporta had been beaten by Font.
Though he only has a contract until June 2027, the likelihood of Flick staying on next term and maybe beyond that has now increased.
Yet while Laporta appears to have the manager and players on his side, there are still fences to be mended with club legends such as Xavi Hernandez and the greatest to ever don Blaugrana in Lionel Messi.
Xavi endorsed Font’s campaign by telling La Vanguardia that Messi had agreed to rejoin his boyhood club in 2023, but that Laporta cancelled the deal because he didn’t want a “war” with the Argentine.
Remember that Messi took advantage of Laporta being out of town to embark on a surprise visit to the new Spotify Camp Nou so that they didn’t cross paths, and the latter has talked about being snubbed by the seven-time winner at the Ballon d’Or ceremony.
Moving forward, the two most powerful figures in FC Barcelona’s modern era must make up if the iconic number 10 is to walk through the front door and have the long-promised testimonial held at the stadium in his honour, as he heads towards retirement.
