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FBL-ESP-LIGA-BARCELONA-LAPORTA
Barca given fresh start as Laporta elected new club president
MADRID, March 8, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Joan Laporta returned as Barcelona
president on Sunday after winning the club’s elections by a landslide, with
his central pledge to try to persuade Lionel Messi to stay.
Laporta was last president at Barca between 2003 and 2010, which included
overseeing the hugely successful appointment of Pep Guardiola as coach and
the iconic treble-winning team of 2008/9.
In total, the club won four La Liga titles and two Champions Leagues during
Laporta’s seven-year spell in charge.
The 58-year-old will return after holding off competition from Victor Font
and Toni Freixa, the other two candidates to gain enough support to make the
final stage.
Laporta won 30,184 votes, Font 16,679 and Freixa 4,769 from a total of
55,611 lodged by the club’s members.
Amid champagne celebrations shared with his team on Sunday night, Laporta
shouted with a grin on his face: “Now let’s go to Paris and see if we can
make another ‘remontada’ happen!”
Barcelona face Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday in the Champions League
last 16, with a 4-1 deficit to make up from the opening leg.
Longer-term, Laporta’s task will be to rebuild a club in crisis, with
crippling debts exacerbated by the pandemic, its reputation damaged and Messi
considering leaving for free when his contract expires this summer.
He has said he will do everything possible to keep Messi at Camp Nou and
campaigned heavily on the idea he was the best-placed candidate to convince
the Argentinian, owing to their relationship during his previous time in
charge.
In his victory speech, Laporta picked up on Messi showing up to vote
earlier in the day. “Seeing Leo, the best player in the world, come to vote
with his son is for me a sign of what we have said all along,” Laporta said.
– ‘Leo loves Barca’ –
“Leo loves Barca and knows that we are a big family. Hopefully that can
help us encourage him to stay.”
A change of regime also leaves coach Ronald Koeman’s position uncertain,
with Laporta insisting the Dutchman “deserves respect” for his work this
season while maintaining his future will depend on results.
Koeman’s contract runs until 2022.
“I am not worried because I have a contract and when we know who is going
to be the president of course we will talk and I want him to show me his
way,” Koeman said on Friday. Laporta’s main rival for the presidency was
Font, who was the early favourite after claiming he would bring former
Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez in as coach.
But the team’s progress under Koeman and Laporta’s superior campaign cast
doubt over the promise, with Laporta questioning last week why Xavi had not
come out in support of Font publicly.
Xavi may have been keen to keep his options open and the Spaniard caused a
stir on Sunday by liking, and then unliking, an Instagram post of Laporta
casting his ballot.
Laporta will also have to make decisions on Xavi’s other former team-mates
still at the club like Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, who have
contributed so much but whose peak years are now behind them.
– ‘Great family’ –
Perhaps most importantly, his job will be to heal the deep mistrust that
has developed between the board of directors and the dressing room, led by
Messi and Pique.
“We are a great family,” Laporta said. “We have a feeling of belonging to
this club and that feeling will make us all go together to face the
challenges that lie ahead.”
The last president Josep Maria Bartomeu was forced to resign in October
after the club’s members succeeded in achieving a vote of no confidence
against him.
But Bartomeu quit before facing the vote after overseeing a disastrous
final year that included Messi attempting to leave, the team being humiliated
by Bayern Munich in the Champions League and the club posting gross debts of
1.2 billion euros.
Bartomeu spent the night in prison last Monday after being arrested as part
of a police investigation into alleged corruption.
Voters had been due to go to the polls on January 24 but were prevented due
to restrictions in relating to the pandemic, meaning the election was
postponed.
Ballots on Sunday were held at six different polling stations in Catalonia
and Andorra between 9am and 9pm, while just over 22,000 voters were able to
vote by post for the first time.
Laporta’s victory was confirmed officially by the club at just before
midnight.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0929 hrs