Joan Laporta confirmed as new Barcelona president

After claiming more votes in Catalonia, Joan Laporta has emerged the new president of Spanish football club Barcelona, Mirror reports.

He was announced winner of Sunday, March 7 election and has pledged to begin negotiations with Argentine star Lionel Messi to remain with the Camp Nou side.

The 33-year-old is out of contract with the Catalans at the end of this season and has been linked with a move away from the club.

Laporta takes control at Camp Nou for the second time and will hope to match the success of his seven-year stint between 2003 and 2010.

The Barcelona native won a resounding 30,184 votes (57.6 per cent) from the club’s members – known as ‘socios.

His two rivals were Victor Font and Toni Freixa, and they received 16,467 (31.8 percent) and 4,769 (9.1 per cent) votes respectively.

OFFICIAL: Joan Laporta has been elected as Barcelona president again. 

His previous presidency from June 2003 to June 2010 included appointing Pep Guardiola as manager and the sextuple-winning team. pic.twitter.com/UwsiHPu0Uz

— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 7, 2021