In a few weeks it will be five years since Hansi Flick's surprising resignation from the Bayern Munich bench. In April 2021, just eight months after winning a treble – including a 2-8 victory over Messi's Barça – with the Bavarians, and despite having a contract secured until 2023, the coach announced he would not continue in the role due to deep disagreements with the club's sporting director, Hasan Salihamidzic, who made a series of decisions he did not like, such as not renewing Thiago Alcántara or Ivan Perisic.

The meme of Joan Laporta dancing has already become part of popular culture. His euphoria is contagious: everything is excitement, optimism, chants borrowed from the supporters' section, macaroni and cava foam swirling at Luz de Gas. Who wouldn't want life to be like this every day? Who's the sourpuss who would choose not to have a good time? Pure hedonism, topped off with a 7-2 victory that catapulted them into the Champions League quarterfinals. "The best years of our lives" are here, and the Barcelona fans—or the 42% who voted—have overwhelmingly chosen this magnetic, fun, charismatic, and approachable man to continue pulling the club out of the hole dug by Josep Maria Bartomeu. This blank check confirms that Barça and Laporta are one and the same. "I am the state," said the absolutist French king Louis XIV. Exactly.

In a world where most major football clubs belong to magnates or petro-estates, Barcelona fans can be proud of having a club where the members still have the final say on who should lead it. Sunday's election process has been an example for the world, allowing for a comparison of management models and culminating in an undeniable victory for Joan Laporta over Víctor Font. The members voted for continuity, not change, and placed their trust in the president they believe will lead Barça to the highest levels of excellence as a club, both in terms of management and on the pitch. The members clearly understood that Laporta has laid the groundwork over the years to bring this objective closer than ever. The new Camp Nou fills Barcelona fans with pride and is envisioned as a source of income that will allow the club to maintain its independence. The commitment to La Masia, which has allowed the emergence of geniuses like Lamine Yamal, and the hiring of Hansi Flick mean that today Barça is, for many, the club that plays the most attractive football in the world, following in the footsteps of Guardiola's and Cruyff's Barça. The Champions League no longer seems like an unattainable dream, eleven years after their last triumph.

Shaking bottles of cava and smoking a cigar at Luz de Gas: that's how Joan Laporta ended his election night after to renew the mandate in the presidency of BarçaA nod to the past, as if mocking the many criticisms he had received for his methods, but summarizing in images the happiest moments of a leader who, like everyone, has great successes and shortcomings, but above all, possesses something that makes him special: charisma. Nothing new, and the main asset of a short but intense election campaign. If in 2021 he was the favorite and won the elections convincingly, on Sunday he doubled down with a landslide victory that surprised even his own supporters.

Laporta's Trump-esque dance celebrating victory, and Víctor Font's grimace feigning defeat, remind us that the world of top-level football is populated by individuals who know neither how to win nor how to lose. Speaking of Trumpism, the photo from a few days ago of Leo Messi smiling alongside Donald Trump says it all about the values ​​football is supposed to embody. The most trollish elements of the Catalan right delude themselves into thinking they've won something and erupt in tavern chants, because their weakness only allows them to project their insecurities onto the pitch of a stadium.

It was enough to listen closely to confirm, in the morning, that Joan Laporta was all but certain to win re-election. At least, that's what the vast majority of club members leaving the Camp Nou polling station were telling the pollsters. Few candidates navigate crowds as effectively as Joan Laporta. Politicians included. The Barça president was making the most of his people skills on an election day that confirmed what many already suspected: he exudes irresistible magnetism and is a seasoned political operator. Following the Barça maxim of doing the important work early, the polling tent was already packed in the morning and remained a hive of activity until the football match kicked off at 4:15 p.m. It was surely the only moment of respite for the club staff manning the polling stations. The calm before the storm, because, after the match, the queues returned, a steady trickle until nine o'clock, the closing time of the polling stations that had been open for twelve hours.

Over the last five years, Joan Laporta has become accustomed to being applauded. He entered the village At the Godó tournament, the children of wealthy families applauded him. He walked into a summer party on the Costa Brava, and everyone was taking selfies. He's ended up atop a bull at Mercabarna and on a tractor, he's sung with the gypsies of Gràcia, and he's made macaroni. Many of those applauding him today are the same ones who sneered at him some 10 years ago. Back then, they said Jan wasn't the same as before, that he didn't know what to do with his life after not shining much as a politician. Laporta seemed like a thing of the past, but he was destined to return as Barça president in the 2021 elections.

"The members vote to decide who will represent them, and that's unique in the world. It's a wonderful thing about our club. Thank you, Barça," said Joan Laporta after being declared the winner of the club's presidential elections. Barça members renewed their confidence in Laporta. The leader of Defensem el Barça (Defend Barça) obtained 68.18% of the votes, defeating Víctor Font, who fell short with 29.78% of the vote. In absolute terms, Laporta garnered 32,934 votes, while Font received 14,385. Blank votes represented 2.04% of the total. After a whirlwind campaign of just one month, Barça fans opted for Laporta's continuity model, who in recent weeks has focused his entire discourse on explaining how he has led the club's economic recovery over the last five years. Font's proposals, therefore, were not enough to convince the members, and the plebiscite he so fervently called for ended up turning its back on the "change" spearheaded by the Nosotros (Us) movement. Laporta will begin his third term at the helm of the institution.

The election campaign for the presidency of FC Barcelona has now ended. The day of reflection comes after candidates Joan Laporta and Víctor Font spent Friday carrying out their final campaign events to win over undecided voters. The promises, proposals, and projects now remain in the minds of the club's supporters, who will have to decide on Sunday whether to re-elect Laporta or opt for the change proposed by Font. The final day of the campaign served to deliver the last messages and tie the finishing touches to an intense month of events and commitments, culminating in a closing ceremony for each candidate. It was a way to honor and thank the numerous volunteers who supported the projects, from collecting signatures to providing logistical support for the presidential hopefuls. Joan Laporta chose La Pedrera for his final event. The president, seeking re-election, gave a nod to the centenary of Antoni Gaudí's death at a party that brought together 250 friends. To shouts of "President, president," Laporta indulged in one last bask in the adulation of the crowd, during which, as he admitted, he would eventually become emotional.

Joan Laporta began his second stint as Barça president by leading an expedition to Paris in search of a quixotic comeback in the Champions League – the Blaugrana had fallen 1-4 against PSG in the first leg of the round of 16 – with a team still captained by Lionel Messi and featuring Ronaldo. Messi ended up leaving in the summer in tears and has become one of the defining figures of the season, especially due to the crossfire between Xavi Hernández and Laporta, while Ronaldo extended his tenure as coach only to ultimately depart unceremoniously. Like Xavi, his successor also left at odds with the former president before Hansi Flick's arrival. While among the major low points of Laporta's second term were disagreements with club legends like Messi, Koeman, and Xavi, his greatest success lies in the signing of the German coach.

Carles Planchart (Arbúcies, 1965), Albert Puig (Cambrils, 1968), and Francesc Cos (Terrassa, 1965), all three with a history at Barça and extensive experience in the world of football, are Víctor Font's picks for the club's sporting director position. All three advocate for maximizing the potential of Hansi Flick's current squad, emphasizing that the club already has excellent professionals working there, but that "more professionalism" and "better communication and coordination between the three key areas" are needed: the transfer market, performance – which includes everything from medical services, physical conditioning and injury prevention to nutrition – and La Masia.

The election campaign for the presidency of Barça ends at midnight tonight. Joan Laporta and Víctor Font will hold their respective closing events, in what will be their final attempts to win over members who are still undecided. They will likely be much more relaxed than they were on Thursday night, when Laporta and Font faced off on TV3 in the second and final debate before Sunday's election. There was anticipation to see how the two candidates would react, having already participated in a head-to-head debate on Monday – organized by the Godó Group. stilted, heated, and full of reproacheswhere mutual accusations overshadowed projects and proposals for the future. Thursday was more or less the same. Even with a bit more tension.

Ferran Olivé has gradually gained prominence at Barça during Joan Laporta's second term. A psychiatrist by profession, Olivé has been one of the key figures on the board, where he has served as treasurer.

The election campaign for the presidency of Barça has been full of surprises and unexpected players. While until now most of the club's current coaches (such as Hansi Flick and Xavi Pascual) had positioned themselves in favor of Joan Laporta, Xavi Hernández appeared this SundayFormer first-team coach, to join Víctor Font's team. The Terrassa native, in an interview with The VanguardThe interview left the current former president and his right-hand man, Alejandro Echevarría, looking like dirt. It questioned his management and the power this second actor wields, accusing the president of blocking a hypothetical return of Leo Messi in 2023 to prevent the Argentine from acting as a counterweight.

Xavi Hernández has broken his silence for the first time since leaving Barça. "I want to tell my truth. I decided not to make any statements after leaving the club out of respect for Barça," the Terrassa native said in an interview. The VanguardThe former Barcelona coach has explained his version of events after being dismissed. "I'm out because I stood up to Alejandro Echevarría. That's how this Barça works; it's practically run by Alejandro Echevarría, who went around talking to players like Sergi Roberto, Araujo, Pedri, and Raphinha and told them I wanted to sell them." The Terrassa native explained that after announcing his departure at the end of the season, the board tried to convince him to stay, although he had doubts. After Barça's elimination against PSG in the Champions League, Echevarría—Laporta's right-hand man—told Xavi that most of the directors weren't sure about him continuing. However, according to Xavi, at a dinner at Laporta's house, she convinced him to stay. "I only asked for one change in the squad; we were only letting go of one player, not ten."

Five years after the elections that put him on the map, Víctor Font still wants to be president of Barça. Running under the "Nosotros" (We) banner, the candidate claims to have created a broad-based list that brings together all the different factions within the Barça fanbase. After the signature count – in which Marc Ciria and Xavier Vilajoana were excluded – Font now has the head-to-head debate against Joan Laporta that he has so often requested.

Joan Laporta cemented the 2021 campaign for the presidency of Barça in nostalgia. Now, at almost 64 years old and after a term with its ups and downs, he's running for reelection. If he wins the March 15th elections, he'll begin a third term and approach Josep Lluís Núñez's two decades in the Camp Nou presidential box. Despite the generation gap in a context heavily influenced by technology and social media, Laporta manages to resonate with many young people. They aren't always Barça voters, but they fuel the narrative favorable to the Barcelona lawyer. At ARA, we interviewed Barça fans between 20 and 40 years old with a strong Laporta sympathy. In their opinion, personality and charisma prevail over a management style often marked by opacity.

"We need the elections to be a plebiscite between the Barça of the past and the Barça of the future." Víctor Font's mantra for the past few weeks has finally become a reality: as Barça announced this Thursday, Marc Ciria obtained 2,247 valid member signatures but did not reach the threshold of 2,337. Therefore, the incumbent Joan Laporta (7,226 valid signatures) and candidate Font (4,440) will face off on March 15. This Monday, Ciria submitted 2,844 signatures at the Auditori 1899, 598 more than those validated in the final count. The signature validation process was much more unforgiving than expected: while approximately 6% of signatures are typically lost, Marc Ciria saw 21% of his signatures discarded. Joan Laporta has lost 944 signatures, 11% of those submitted, and Víctor Font, 704 (14%).

Maria Elena Fort (Barcelona, ​​1970) speaks as a member of Joan Laporta's candidacy for the presidency of Barça, but above all as the former institutional vice-president and former board member responsible for Espai Barça. The Barcelona lawyer, the only woman on the outgoing Barça board, speaks to ARA 10 days before the eagerly awaited re-election.

Barcelona's controversial sponsorship contract with the Democratic Republic of Congo could end up in court. On Monday, the National Financial Prosecutor's Office of Monaco confirmed to The Team An investigation has been opened into corruption, money laundering, and misappropriation of public funds related to an agreement with the same characteristics as Barcelona's deal with AS Monaco. The contract with the Monegasque club, signed in June 2025, reached the courts after a complaint filed in early September by lawyer Hervé Diakiese on behalf of two Congolese citizens residing in France. According to the same source, the complainants believe the contract with Barça could be part of the same controversial financial strategy and are not ruling out taking the agreement to Spanish courts. However, Barcelona's offices deny any connection and explain that they closed the deal "directly" with the country's government and that the funds come from "public coffers." AC Milan could also end up in court over the same transaction.