The greatest day for Laporta's era
Joan Laporta has been re-elected as president of FC Barcelona with the best percentage of his career as club president.
Joan Laporta is re-elected as
president of FC Barcelona until 2031 with the best results of his career: 68.18% of the vote. Víctor Font's career hits a glass ceiling.
Laporta received 68.18% of the votes (32,934 votes out of a total of 48,480 valid votes),
the best percentage of his football-political career at Barcelona.
The Catalan lawyer will continue to lead the club until 2031, extending his term to 17 years (2003-2010, 2021-2026 and 2026-2031). Laporta will become one of the longest-serving presidents in Barça's history, second only to Josep Luis Núñez (22 years).
El Pais described this result as a “historic wave of support” for the lawyer born in 1962. Compared to the 2021 elections (where he only received 54.28% of the vote), Laporta received an additional 13.90% of support from Barça members.
Laporta far surpassed his main opponent Victor Font, who received only 29.78% (14,385 votes), maintaining almost the same 29.99% as in 2021. In the recent Barcelona presidential election, there were 984 blank votes (2.04%) and 177 invalid votes.
Laporta’s campaign message is considered the main reason for his easy victory. Laporta was the one who directly appointed Hansi Flick and Deco, two figures behind Barça's success in the last two years (winning the Super Cup, the Spanish Cup and La Liga). In addition, Laporta helped Barça build a young team with many players from the youth academy, revitalized the club's finances and built the new Camp Nou Stadium.
Laporta, the groundbreaking candidate of 2003 and the emotional one of 2021 (“We Love Barça,” he called his campaign), now, at 63, represents the continuation of a project that nearly derailed in 2024. That year, a trophyless season with Xavi on the bench coincided with delays in returning to Spotify and financial fair play issues, which reached a breaking point on New Year's Eve of that same year when LaLiga suspended Olmo's registration.
The opposition almost initiated a vote of no confidence, but the CSD (Spanish National Sports Council) forced LaLiga and the RFEF (Royal Spanish Football Federation) to reinstate Olmo, and Barça won the Super Cup, the Copa del Rey, La Liga… and rediscovered its joy. The team's sporting success proved decisive in the election results. Laporta is haunted by some black marks on his management: the poor management of Barça Vision which directly impacts fair play, the signing of the sponsorship with Congo, the 'super commission' of Darren Dein for mediating in the renewal of the contract with Nike, and even the awarding to Limak of the project to build the new Spotify.
None of that, however, has been able to stop this "electoral animal" who has known how to play his cards right and has stayed close to the people. First, during the pre-campaign, he opted for fun: the tractor ride in Mollerusa, the mechanical bull in Mercabarna, the macaroni at Bar Bocata, or the ham carving in Andorra.
“President, president!”
Then, when he saw in the first debate that Víctor Font was going all out, he got down and dirty, discrediting his rival if necessary ("mastermind," "technocrat," "con man") and was on the ground. When he had to step on the gas, he did. And yesterday, when no one expected him until midday, he showed up at nine in the morning on the esplanade of the Palau, almost two hours before his electoral rival. He took photos with Aitana Bonmatí, Sergio Busquets, Danny Cruyff, Deco, Bojan, Valero Rivera, and Xepkin. Then he went to the stadium, enjoyed the match, and returned to the tent to jump and bounce with the players.
“President, president!” shouted Gavi, Araújo, Olmo, and company.
The defeat is a hard blow for Víctor Font, who has worked for a decade toward a dream and has fallen short. First, with the Sí al Futur platform. Then, with Nosaltres. Two candidacies with good ideas, but without any real impact. The mega-proposal to Messi only met with silence in Miami. His presidential campaign may have definitively ended. Laporta's faction swept the board. If he finishes his term, Laporta will have spent 17 years in the position he loves and enjoys most.

Manos Staramopoulos
Journalist and Analyst of International Football and Affairs
Chief Editor English Zone of Discoveryfootball.com
Athens (Greece)












