Joan Laporta has resigned as president of FC Barcelona. This move was unavoidable due to the Catalan club’s statutes. He intends to resume the position in the summer.
Laporta’s five-year term since his election in 2021 is coming to an end. However, according to the statutes, board members who wish to continue in office must stand for re-election every five years. Accordingly, Laporta had to officially resign between February 9 and 22. The 63-year-old has now taken this step.
After the board meeting, at which Laporta and other executives formally resigned from their positions, it was also announced, as expected, that Rafa Yuste will head the club until the end of the season—six other people will form the new board.
In addition to Laporta, Elena Fort, vice president of institutional affairs, Rafael Escudero, vice president of social affairs, and executives Ferran Oliver, Josep Maria Albert, Xavier Barbany, Miquel Camps, Aureli Mas, Xavier Puig, and Joan Soler i Ferré also officially announced their resignations on Monday in order to stand for re-election.
Yuste, previously vice president of the club and a confidant of Laporta, will be in charge until July 1, after which the newly elected president will take office. The presidential elections will take place on March 15, with the campaign running from March 6 to 13.
Opponent Font does not want Deco
Laporta is not without opponents. Víctor Font, who came second in the 2021 elections, is considered his main rival. Unlike Laporta, the 53-year-old would not want to continue working with sporting director Deco and even has his eye on someone new for the job: “We can’t name the person because they have a contract,” Font explained in an interview with RAC1. “We will build the structure that best suits Hansi Flick.” Xavi Vilajoana, a former board member under Josep Maria Bartomeu, and Marc Ciria are considered further rivals alongside Font.
If Laporta is re-elected, it will be the third term in office for the Spanish lawyer and politician. He first headed the club between 2003 and 2010.
