New Barcelona president Laporta cites Messi's arrival to vote as his determination to stay

Spanish giants Barcelona finally have a new president after months of uncertainty following the resignation of Josep Maria Bartomeu. Joan Laporta beat the likes of Victor Font and Toni Freixa to be elected as the president for the second time in the history of the club. Indeed, the future of club legend Lionel Messi depended on the elections' outcome. During his victory speech, Laporta cited Messi's decision to exercise his voting rights as his love and determination for the Camp Nou outfit. 

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Laporta was declared the new Barcelona president on Sunday after bagging the majority of votes among the three candidates. The new Barcelona president succeeded in bagging 30,184 votes to his credit, while Font stood second with 16,679 being polled in his favour. Freixa had an embarrassingly lower vote count to his credit, bagging a mere 4,769 votes. 

During his victory speech, Laporta cited Messi's decision to exercise his voting rights to shed light on his love for the club. The six-time Ballon d'Or winner had arrived to vote for the Barcelona presidential elections along with his son Thiago before the conclusion of the deadline on Sunday.

In his victory speech, Laporta said, "Seeing Leo (Messi), the best player in the world, come to vote with his son is for me a sign of what we have said all along. Leo loves Barca and knows that we are a big family. Hopefully, that can help us encourage him to stay."

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Messi contract ends next summer, Laporta's elections might be key to his stay

Indeed, Laporta's election campaign revolved around the idea of convincing Messi to continue at Camp Nou. Messi sees off his Barcelona contract at the end of the current season. An earlier report had claimed that the Argentina international will decide on his next course of action after speaking with the newly elected president. 

Laporta seemingly enjoys friendly tries with the Messi family. It was during his previous presidential term that Messi broke into the first team. The 58-year-old had even asserted that the club's all-time leading goalscorer will leave the club if he was not elected to the highest office at Camp Nou. 

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Joan Laporta clears air on Ronald Koeman's future 

Meanwhile, Laporta's election also casts doubts on Ronald Koeman's future at the Camp Nou. But the newly elected president insists that the manager deserves respect for his role in the team's performance this season. He however did send out a word of caution, stating that the Dutchman's future will depend on his results during the course of the season. 

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Image courtesy: Barcelona Twitter