Former Barcelona president Joan Laporta has re-emerged as the new president of the club after the last administration debacle of Josep Maria Bartomeu, Laporta secured the Catalan club’s presidency after getting 54.3 per cent votes during the club election last night Sunday, March 8th.

The Catalan club elections ended Sunday night, March 7, with a total of 55,611 members voting with Joan Laporta defeating his closest rival Victor Font by nearly twice his votes margin ( Font had 30% of votes) then followed by Toni Freixa (won 9%). READ ALSO: Lionel Messi’s Mega £492MILLION Barcelona Contract Leaked And It Includes £102m; Renewal Fee, And £69m Loyalty Bonus

Joan Laporta’s first spell as President of Barcelona was between lasted 7-years between 2003-2010, he was created for assembling the greatest football team on the planet in 2012 when the then Barca side had Iniesta, Xavi, Messi and was managed by Pep Guardiola. This will be his second spell at the helms affairs at Barca with a strong believe he will take the team back to its lofty heights.

Before the election, Laporta had promised those who voted for him that their best chance of retaining Lionel Messi was to vote for him. As Messi’s deal expires in the summer, Laporta has promised to start negotiations with the star player. Laporta is believed to have a fantastic relationship with the Argentinian magician and is key to help keep the little man at the Camp Nou at least for the next two seasons.

When he was asked after the electoral results were announced if he would be in touch with Messi’s entourage tomorrow, he said: “Why tomorrow? I can speak tonight, the night is long.”

“These are the most important elections in the history of FC Barcelona,” Joan Laporta declared. “They have been organised in a model fashion.”

Victor Font, one of Joan Laporta’s opponent at the elections told TV3: “I think it has been a constructive campaign. It is good for the institution that we celebrate a democratic day like today and that we congratulate the winner.

“Obviously, the results are not what we wanted, but I want to thank thousands of Catalans who have supported us and given us their trust.

“I believe that the context in which the club finds itself has led to a rebound effect. We were fighting against a well-known former president. Against that, it has been very complicated

“I will continue working to ensure that the Barca of the future is as we believe it should be. We have to reflect and digest the result, but the aims of helping to transform the club continues.”

Photo Credit: Getty

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