Joan Laporta new Barcelona club president, hopes Lionel Messi will stay
Joan Laporta is a former president of Barcelona, having headed it between 2003-10. He succeeds Josep Maria Bartomeu, who resigned last year, especially after Barca was thrashed 8-2 by Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League, while Lionel Messi tried to quit.
FollowAfter months of uncertainty, Barcelona finally has a new club president, in the form of Joan Laporta. The man, who headed the club between 2003-10, has been re-elected after the final elections on Sunday. He won with 54.28% of total votes, followed by Victor Font (29.99%) and Toni Freixa (8.58%).
Laporta would now succeed Josep Maria Bartomeu after the latter quit the role last year, following the fear of a no-confidence vote. Barca was thrashed 8-2 by Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League last season, while Lionel Messi attempted to quit.
Meanwhile, Laporta has a task at hand, as not only he would aim for Messi to stay and sign a new deal at Camp Nou. Also, he would be equally concerned to get the club out of the severe institutional and financial crisis it is currently undergoing.
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Laporta sang Barca’s club anthem and sipped champagne before delivering his victory speech. “Twenty years ago, a little boy called Leo Messi made his debut with Barca’s youth team. Seeing the best player in the world come out to vote today is a clear sign of what we keep saying. Leo loves Barca. The best player in the world loves Barca and I hope that is a sign that he will stay at Barcelona, which is what we all want. We’re off to Paris to stage a comeback,” he said, reports Reuters.
Considering Barcelona’s ongoing financial crisis, the club is reportedly in a debt of $1.67 billion. It was compelled to bring in a temporary player pay-cut, while some of the players were delayed with their payments since December. Furthermore, Bartomeu was arrested last Monday on charges of improper management and business corruption, while Catalan police also raided the club’s offices.
Meanwhile, Laporta would begin his reign with Barca’s upcoming UCL second-leg clash against Paris Saint-Germain in Paris. The Catalans is trailing 1-3 from the opening leg at Camp Nou, as it faces an uphill task to reverse the result in its favour in Paris. Also, the club would look to win the Copa del Rey final next month.
