Laporta is again the president of Barça: "Now we have to close ranks"

BarcelonaJoan Laporta is once again president of Barça. As the Barça statutes dictate, the Barcelona lawyer took office this July 1st after winning the elections held in March, and he did so with an inaugural speech in which he called for the "unity of Barça fans" and promised an "exciting" future with the consolidation of the project his board began in 2021. His term ends on June 30, 2031.

"We feel the warmth and support of the Barça members. We know and defend our crest and the strength of our institution," Laporta said at the outset, in an extensive speech, full of thanks to his trusted individuals and also to the members who supported him in the elections. But a speech in which he repeated "against all and against everyone," which was one of his campaign slogans. "We cannot let our guard down, because there are those who do not rest. In the face of attacks, they will always find a president and a board with strong leadership, aimed at defending our institution," said Laporta, before concluding: "Now we must close ranks. The unity of Barça fans is a highly valued asset to achieve what we set out to do."

The institutional event was held at Auditorium 1899 and brought together a large part of the club's personalities, from members of the new board of directors to former players, including technical secretary Deco, and the coach of the men's first team, Hansi Flick. But the presence of Javier Tebas, president of La Liga, was also notable, who gave a brief speech in which he praised the work done by Laporta in his first five years in office, especially at an economic level. "They have been difficult years and I want to congratulate the board for having given economic stability to the club," Tebas said.

Laporta thanks Tebas for his presence and support at the inauguration

Laporta has explicitly thanked Tebas's words, whom he dared to define "as a friend" while, amid laughter, asking him fair play to be able to operate normally. Something that, a priori, Barça should already be able to do this summer. In his speech, the now president of Barça has boasted about the work done in his first five years, especially about the "difficult decisions". In this regard, he has spoken about Espai Barça and has defined the Camp Nou as "the best stadium in the world" once it is finished. Also, and as the ARA already reported, Laporta has announced that an extraordinary assembly will be held to "boost" the works, during which an extension of the credit of 1.5 billion will be requested to cover expenses higher than expected. He has also announced a statutory reform that will be voted on soon by referendum and that, among other issues, will "safeguard the ownership model" of the partners.

Laporta's speech also recalled Real Madrid and its president, Florentino Pérez, whom he pointed out – although without explicitly naming him – to say that "they are very nervous" and resort to "esperpentic conferences" in which "it seems they have lost their way". Regarding the appointment of Mourinho as coach, he described it as a "déjà-vu". Later, at a press conference, he added that the complaint made by the white club to FIFA over the Negreira case "will not prosper" and attributed it to a smokescreen because "they have no music and don't know where to park", referring to the neighborhood conflicts at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium.

Rafael Yuste, the outgoing president, who from now on will maintain his role as first vice president and head of the sports department, has made a brief assessment of his five months in office, in which he also emphasized economic work. He also did not spare praise for Laporta, whom he defined as a "leader, fighter, generous, a great person and a great Barcelonista." Furthermore, he also revealed that when he took over the presidency at the start of the electoral process, Laporta asked him to guarantee the club's "institutional stability."

The outgoing board joins Laporta's team

Before the institutional act, in the morning, the first board meeting of the season was held, attended by the seven members of the outgoing board and the new members who won the elections on June 15. Rafael Yuste, Josep Cubells, Alfons Castro, Josep-Ignasi Macià, Àngel Riudalbas, Joan Solé and Sisco Pujol, who according to the statutes were stepping down from their positions, have joined Laporta's management team, as the new president had previously announced. However, according to Article 35.1 of the Barça's magna carta, they will have to be ratified at the next assembly.