The next Barça is a box of surprises

BarcelonaThe possibility of seeing Dani Olmo leave Barça for free mid-season marked the arrival of the grapes in 2025. This was the topic of conversation over prawns and canapés, prompting quite a few journalists who cover Barcelona to bring their laptops to the New Year's Eve dinner and party. However, the storm didn't subside before midnight, as the club failed to gather the millions and all the necessary documentation for the sale of VIP seats that was meant to secure the continuity of the Terrassa native – and Pau Víctor – until the end of the season. La Liga and the Federation were inflexible regarding the registration regulations, and only the Higher Sports Council (CSD), thanks to a crucial push from Florentino Pérez, granted an urgent injunction to spare Joan Laporta the embarrassment. his victory against Javier Tebas with shouts and sausages.

Twelve months later, there's no earthquake in sight. But behind the scenes, things are different. The relationship between the Barça president and his La Liga counterpart has changed to the point where he publicly defends him whenever possible. Now he's friends with Tebas and also with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, who helped by forgiving him a €45 million fine for breaching the rules. fair play financially, and making an exception to reopen Camp Nou midway through the Champions League. In exchange for these major favors, Laporta has abandoned the Super League project and left Florentino Pérez alone, who has gone from seeking ways to keep Barça afloat to turning on the Negreira scandal, a topic as uncomfortable for Barcelona fans – the payments to the former vice-president of the referees did exist and are unjustified – as Spanish institutions are unjustified.

17 years of presidency

Approaching his 64th birthday, Laporta will run for reelection with several powerful figures working in his favor, except for Florentino Pérez, who, despite being nearly 80, remains a threat thanks to his ability to exert influence in certain offices. However, the current Barça president, a charismatic figure who commands celebrity status (traveling with a security detail, driver, and entourage), has everything in his favor to continue in office, but he has not yet decided when to open the electoral process. While the elections must take place between March 15th and June 15th, he will choose the opportune moment based on the first team's performance, which, if it remains in contention for all titles, will be a formidable argument at the polls. What he does know is that Víctor Font, Marc Ciria, and Xavier Vilajoana have already formally submitted their pre-candidacies. The first, whom he already defeated in the 2021 elections, is presented as the best-known alternative among club members: some 16,000 voted for him five years ago.

If Laporta wins the right to continue governing Barça in 2026, he could accumulate 17 years as president across two periods (2003-2010 and 2021-2031). He would be just five years shy of Josep Lluís Núñez, whom he confronted in the late 1990s (and from whom he increasingly inherits communication tics).

Saving Barça from ruin

The pre-campaign has already begun and will intensify in the coming weeks, during which Laporta will benefit from the media spotlight afforded by the presidency to defend his record in government. In fact, the leader is scheduled to present a book entitled This is how we saved Barça, The cover features him wearing a construction helmet, a clear reference to one of the great strengths of his legacy: having initiated the necessary comprehensive renovation of Camp Nou. The headline is very forceful, beyond... the dubious selection of the construction company Limak, of the repeated and poorly communicated delays, the heavy burden of the Goldman Sachs loan to finance the construction, and the lack of a project and timeline for building a new Palau Blaugrana.

Barcelona fans will vote having returned home after more than two years of exile in Montjuïc. And this is a success for Laporta, who in the last five years has also reduced the club's wage bill, strengthened the squad with top-level players, and "brought joy back to Barcelona fans," as he likes to say. The flip side in the offices—with dozens of resignations of employees and executives fed up with his personalistic management, a hole of more than 200 million in the profit and loss account, or the failure of financial operations that have ended up impacting the balance sheet – is simply that: a B-side that doesn't interest a large mass of Barça fans.

Consolidate a winning team

And in the absence of less easily interpreted—and less convoluted—truths about the current board's management, much of the legitimacy to continue governing will be determined by the players themselves. This was the case with Josep Maria Bartomeu, confirmed as president in 2015 after a treble-winning season, and it will be the same with Laporta, who has assembled an exciting team amidst financial constraints. Lamine Yamal, Pedri González, and Hansi Flick are the three essential guiding lights of a project destined to continue the string of successes begun in 2025 into 2026.

Leading La Liga, the Blaugrana are competing against a Real Madrid side that has proven unreliable despite its massive investments. In the coming months, they will show whether they can consolidate their winning streak at home and whether they can put up a fight in the demanding Champions League. They will also serve to assess whether the veteran Robert Lewandowski deserves another year's extension, whether it's worth paying 30 million to retain Marcus Rashford, or whether Marc-André ter Stegen accepts being Joan Garcia's backup. What does seem impossible, however, is that Leo Messi will get his own contract. last danceEspecially if Laporta renews his term.

In the coming months, Barça Women, who have turned the Liga F into a routine due to a lack of serious rivals, also hope to regain continental glory with Aitana Bonmatí, who will start 2026 injured, and with Alexia Putellas, whose contract will automatically renew for another year if there is no renewal. There are more doubts about the continuity of Mapi León, Salma Paralluelo, Marta Torrejón, Caroline Graham, and Ona Batlle, whose contracts expire in June, as does that of the coach, Pere Romeu. And speaking of coaches, a special mention goes to Xavi Pascual, brought back a few weeks ago to resurrect a Barça basketball team that was dead under Joan Peñarroya's leadership. Another successful course correction by Laporta, who has silenced the critical voices at the Palau with a coach who is a safe bet.