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.

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.

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.

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.

"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%).

Pending official confirmation, Joan Laporta will face two rivals in the FC Barcelona presidential elections on March 15. The deadline for submitting the 2,337 valid signatures required to qualify for the election closed this Monday, and in addition to the incumbent, who obtained 8,171 signatures, Víctor Font (5,144) and Marc Ciria (2,844) also reached the minimum threshold. Xavier Vilajoana (1,593) is therefore out of the running, as was the case in the 2021 elections. The other two pre-candidates, Daniel Juan (84) and William Maddock (9), played only a minor role.

After two frantic weeks searching high and low for signatures, the pre-candidates for the Barça presidency are scheduled to meet this afternoon at Camp Nou to submit their supporting endorsements. They need 2,337 valid endorsements to officially become candidates. Polls, surveys, and general sentiment suggest that Joan Laporta, who is running for re-election, will by far submit the most. The question is how many endorsements his opponents will submit, starting with Víctor Font, who should be second in this ranking, followed by... Marco Ciria and Xavier Vilajoana, who are working until the last minute to try to make the cut. The other two pre-candidates, Daniel Juan and William Maddock, are expected to play only a symbolic role.

Last summer, Jaume Guardiola (Barcelona, ​​1957) stepped down as president of the Círculo de Economía and the board of trustees of the Esade Foundation after a long career in the business world. The former CEO of Banc Sabadell and, previously, BBVA, is returning to the forefront with the Barça elections. He admits to being a lifelong Barça fan and losing sleep when the team loses. He also says he is worried about the club's current situation.

Victor Font, second most voted candidate in the 2021 Barça elections With nearly 17,000 supporters, he intends to face Joan Laporta again at the polls. The businessman from Vallès is the main figurehead of Nosotros (Us), a movement that aims to unite Barcelona fans "who share the need to move beyond personal agendas, reconnect the club with its members, and, at the same time, modernize and professionalize the institution." The presentation of this initiative brought together more than a thousand people from various corners of the Barcelona family at the Fira de Barcelona, all of whom believe it is necessary to "open a new chapter for the club." The groups Seguimiento FCB, Dignitat Blaugrana, and Suma Barça have joined the Sí al Futuro (Yes to the Future) candidacy, along with the World Confederation of Supporters' Clubs. For their part, founding groups of the Supporters' Space, such as Almogàvers, through their president, Albert Yarza, also participated in Monday's presentation. However, other members critical of Laporta who aspire to the Barça presidency, such as Marc Ciria, Joan Camprubí Montal, and Xavier Vilajoana, are for now remaining outside this nascent cross-party candidacy.

If Joan Laporta and Marc Ciria were to step out onto the balconies of their offices on Barcelona's Diagonal Avenue, they could greet each other and even be close enough to converse despite the background noise of the bustling city life. The Barça president's law firm, Laporta & Arbós, is located at 469 Diagonal Avenue, and Ciria, one of the most active members of the opposition and a potential candidate in next spring's electionsThe headquarters of Diagonal Asset Management, a company specializing in financial asset management, is located at 467 Diagonal Avenue. Both are a two-minute walk from Plaça Francesc Macià, the epicenter for years of breakfasts, coffees, and lunches centered around Barça.

Joan Laporta will be president of Barça again. He returns to the position with the clear endorsement of the members, who have opted more for what Laportismo represents in terms of pride and self-esteem than for its program of government, which was vague. Emotionality and character have won over rationality, which has remained in the background. In the world of football, despite the professionalisation of both economic and sporting management, despite the importance of business, feelings continue to rule among supporters. The partners and the fans of Barça are not an exception. In campaign, Laporta has limited himself to not make blunders, to make people forget his more frivolous profile, to leave in the background his frustrated political adventures and to appeal, instead, to the epic feats of its first mandate. And he has succeeded: he has won more than 50% of the votes, an undisputed victory. His main rival, Victor Font, despite the years of preparation and the strength of his club model, was prepared to compete with a continuist candidate of the failed board of the now investigated Bartomeu, but not to face a candidate as charismatic as Laporta.

This Sunday's elections are probably the most emotional - and least rational - to date. Barça members value projects not only for the roadmaps presented, but also for the excitement they arouse. And, in addition to the decisions to recover the club's economic stability, the sporting sphere is the one that most worries the Barça fan. In the more than four months that we have been campaigning - counting the pre-campaign and taking into account the postponement of the elections - many different issues have marked the agenda: transfers, appointments, organisational charts... It is a reality that women's sport, which has had some space in this debate, and the ARA, in this final stretch, has wanted to contrast the proposals with those responsible for each candidacy.

Barça will finally have a president in a month's time. Joan Laporta, Víctor Font or Toni Freixa, one of the three, will take the reins of the club 133 days after the resignation of Josep Maria Bartomeu. The race has been long and exhausting for culés, who on the day of the elections will have spent a full year away from the Camp Nou (the last game with a crowd at the stadium was on March 7, 2020 against Real Sociedad) and have only been able to express themselves voting to censor the last president or in favour of their favourite pre-candidate. The wait will be long also for journalists, communicators and analysts who comment on azulgrana current affairs at the chaotic Barça HQ. But the fight above all will be exhausting for the three candidates, who have had to revise strategies and redouble physical and economic efforts after the elections were postponed from January 24 to March 7 due to covid and the inaction of Carles Tusquets's management to adapt the electoral process to the mobility restrictions.