Joan Laporta was re-elected president of Barcelona on Sunday (15), defeating Victor Font and remaining in charge of the Catalan giant until 2031.
The charismatic 63-year-old, who also beat Font in the 2021 election, will resume his role in July after resigning a few weeks ago as part of the electoral process.
Around 42% of Barcelona’s members voted — which corresponds to 48,480 votes. Laporta triumphed with 68.18% of the votes, against 29.78% for Font.
“This result makes us very happy and gives us a lot of strength, so much, so much that it leaves us speechless,” Laporta told reporters.
“No one is going to stop us. I’m sure that in the coming years, as I told you, we will have exciting times ahead.”
Laporta said the club will focus on completing the partial reconstruction of Camp Nou, now scheduled for 2027, a year later than planned, as well as continuing to defend the club against possible external attacks.
“(The members) voted in favor of our proposal, which was that all of us, together, defend Barça against everything and everyone”, added the re-elected president.
He also thanked coach Hansi Flick and sporting director Deco, who helped the club win the national treble last season.
Laporta had already led the club between 2003 and 2010, in what can be considered Barcelona’s golden era, a period in which the team won the treble under the command of Pep Guardiola in 2009.
Player voting
Several players from Barcelona’s first-team squad and coach Flick went to vote after the team’s 5-2 victory over Sevilla, with Laporta joining them at the polls.
Former Barça midfielder Sergio Busquets, three-time women’s Ballon d’Or winner and women’s team star Aitana Bonmati and former player and coach Xavi Hernández were among the other club members who voted.
Voting booths were set up at Camp Nou, as well as in other Catalan cities such as Girona, Tarragona and Lleida, and in Andorra.
Laporta was seen celebrating long before the votes were counted, as well as dancing with Barca players after their emphatic victory at Camp Nou.
The lawyer, elected in 2021 after promising to keep star Lionel Messi at the club — which he failed to do —, helped Barça stay afloat despite having inherited a financial crisis.
Laporta controversially sold future television rights and parts of the club to generate funds and sign players such as Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha in the summer of 2022.
Barça won the La Liga titles in 2023 and 2025 and, under coach Flick, returned to the Champions League semi-finals last season for the first time since 2019.
Laporta was criticized by some for joining forces with Florentino Pérez, president of Real Madrid, to try to make the failed European Super League project viable. Barcelona finally gave up on the project earlier this year.
During Laporta’s first term as president, he oversaw a glorious period for Barça, including the arrival of Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho, the emergence of the club’s greatest ever player, Messi, and two Champions League triumphs in 2006 and 2009.
The defeated candidate, Font, said he would like the electoral process to be modernized, allowing members who live far from Catalonia to vote without having to travel.
“The low participation was the most negative aspect of the day — we would have liked it to have been higher, as we believe that the club needs more participation, as in the case of postal voting,” said Font.
“More participation means more strength.”
