After Joan Laporta stepped down as president of FC Barcelona in early February, the 63-year-old has now been re-elected—meaning he will begin his third term as president of the Blaugrana this summer. Meanwhile, Marc-André ter Stegen suffered another setback.
Laporta clearly defeated his rival Victor Font in Sunday’s election; Font had entered the race promising, among other things, to fire sporting director Deco. With Laporta’s victory, Deco should now be able to sleep a little more soundly.
According to the club, 42.34 percent of all eligible voters cast their ballots—the vast majority for Laporta, as announced shortly before midnight. 68.18 percent voted for the incumbent and new president, who garnered 32,934 votes. Challenger Font received 29.78 percent of the votes, but his 14,385 votes were not enough to unseat Laporta.
Laporta, who had previously led the Catalans from 2003 to 2010 and again since 2021, had resigned in early February. The reason for this was the club’s bylaws, which stipulate that board members who wish to continue in office must stand for reelection every five years. Consequently, the lawyer and politician had to officially resign between February 9 and 22; Rafa Yuste, previously vice president and a close confidant of Laporta, took over and will continue to lead the club until the end of the season.
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 Ferre also officially announced their resignations in February in order to stand for reelection.
However, the election also saw a snub against Marc-André ter Stegen. Despite being demoted to third-choice goalkeeper and going on loan to FC Girona, the German national team goalkeeper is still under contract with the Catalans and would therefore be a club member eligible to vote. The 33-year-old also came to the polls but was not allowed to vote. Ter Stegen had requested his voting materials at the special counter for prominent club members, but he did not receive them.
Surrounded by cameras and cell phones, the goalkeeper, who had played 423 times for Barca, had to wait for several minutes while staff frantically searched for a solution. Ultimately, after the long wait, he was escorted outside and was ultimately not allowed to cast his vote because his name was not listed on the voter registry—a humiliation for which Ter Stegen may well be responsible himself. In any case, reports circulated in the Spanish media claiming that he had failed to actively pursue his membership status.
