Barcelona election results: Joan Laporta elected president for second time in club history

After months of anticipation and uncertainty, Spanish giants Barcelona have finally elected a president, following the resignation of Josep Maria Bartomeu in October last year. Joan Laporta has been elected as the successor to Bartomeu following the conclusion of the voting on Sunday. Laporta will begin his stint with the Blaugrana for the second time, after enjoying a successful run more than a decade ago. 

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Barcelona election results: Joan Laporta beats Font, Freixa to clinch highest office 

Laporta defeated the likes of Victor Font and Toni Freixa to get re-elected. The newly elected 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. 

The club have revealed that 51,765 out of 109,531 eligible members participated in the voting process of the Barcelona presidential elections. The voting turnout was low at 50.48% though, owing to the coronavirus pandemic. Interestingly, the elections were originally scheduled for January, but the date was pushed further citing the rising number of cases of the coronavirus in Catalunya. 

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Barcelona election results: Joan Laporta presidency highlights 

Laporta has been elected as the club president for the second time in the history of Barcelona. He was first elected to the highest office in 2003. During his first tenure, several top football stars were roped in, including Brazilian legend Ronaldinho. Besides, Lionel Messi also broke into the first team under his stint. 

He was re-elected in 2006, a stint that saw the dominance of Barcelona in the European arena. Laporta was instrumental in roping in Pep Guardiola as the club manager, following which the Blaugrana went on to achieve impeccable dominance in Spain as well as in Europe. 

To sum up his seven-year stint as the club president, Barcelona clinched two Champions League titles, four LaLiga glories, a Copa del Rey, a FIFA Club World Cup, a UEFA Super Cup and three Spanish Super Cups. 

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Barcelona new president's speech after re-election 

"I want to thank all the members for coming out to vote what has been the most important election in the club's history due to [the effects of] the coronavirus pandemic, which has changed our lives. I want to thank the members that have supported our campaign. This has been a celebration of democracy and of Barcelona. I also want to pay special thanks to Johan Cruyff, who's no longer with us. I am sure he's helped us," said Laporta in his brief speech after the elections.

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Image courtesy: Barcelona website