BARCELONA, Spain (AP) – Joan Laporta has been re-elected as president. FC Barcelona 5 more years after winning Leadership voting among members Sunday’s match between Spain’s soccer powerhouses.
Shortly after midnight in Barcelona, the club announced Laporta’s victory.
His only rival Victor Font previously admitted defeat and congratulated Laporta on his “undoubted victory”.
The counting has concluded and Barcelona announced that Laporta had received 68% of the votes.
The club said more than 48,000 of Barça’s 114,000 members voted at the Camp Nou stadium or at four other polling stations across Catalonia in northeastern Spain and in Andorra.
“We are grateful to this great club, whose fans still vote for the president and the board,” Laporta said in the Camp Nou auditorium, surrounded by members of the incoming board.
Laporta enjoyed success at the helm of Barça from 2003 to 2010, during the glory days of manager Josep Guardiola and a young Lionel Messi.
he was voted Return to post in 2021 The club was in dire financial straits due to president Josep Bartomeu’s lavish spending on players and the financial fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
Laporta responded to the crisis with Barcelona’s decision Messi had no more leeway.transferred to Paris Saint-Germain sell some club assetswhich includes 25% of the Spanish league’s television rights for the next 25 years.
However, the club’s debt has increased under Laporta, rising from 1.3 billion euros to more than 2 billion euros (about 230 billion yen) under his watch.
Font’s camp tried to portray Laporta as an irresponsible manager who had ruined the club’s future, but Laporta won the support of more club members with the message that he had saved the club from ruin and needed another term to complete his tenure.
Laporta, 63, was helped by the team’s strong performances under coach Hansi Flick and the emergence of a new star in Lamine Yamal.
He defended his financial management, stressing that the club has reduced spending on player salaries and increased revenue. The increase in debt was partly due to a long period of delayed repayments. Camp Nou renovation workEurope’s largest soccer stadium, will increase revenue once completed in the coming months.
Barça’s club elections included many of the trappings of an actual political election, resulting in a long campaign closely followed by Catalan Barcelona fans and local media.
Coach Flick and several players from the club’s men’s and women’s soccer teams, as well as other sports teams such as basketball and handball, cast their votes at Camp Nou on Sunday.
elections were held on the same day Barcelona men’s team defeated Sevilla 5-2 Maintains first place in the Spanish league.
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