# Laporta returns to Barcelona’s presidency after decisive club vote

Joan Laporta has been re-elected president of FC Barcelona in a landslide, giving him another five-year term at the head of one of world football’s most scrutinized clubs. The result preserves continuity in a period that has combined on-field success with off-field rebuilding, and it gives the incumbent another mandate to manage the club’s finances, stadium project, and relationship with supporters.

Laporta won 32,934 of 48,480 votes cast, while challenger Victor Font received 14,385. The ballot also produced 984 blank votes and 177 void votes. Barça said turnout reached 42.34% among 114,504 eligible members. The scale of the victory matters because club elections are not ceremonial: they are a direct test of the president’s standing with members, or socios, who own the right to choose the person who represents the institution.

The vote was accompanied by scenes that underline how intertwined Barcelona’s sporting and political identities remain. Current and former presidents, coaches, and players were among those who cast ballots at Spotify Camp Nou and at other polling stations in Tarragona, Girona, Lleida, and Andorra. Hansi Flick and several men’s first-team players voted after Barcelona’s 5-2 win over Sevilla, while injured women’s players Aitana Bonmatí and Laia Aleixandri also took part. Former coach Xavi Hernández and ex-midfielder Sergio Busquets were among the other high-profile members who voted.

Laporta used his victory speech to emphasize the club’s membership model and the legitimacy it gives him. He said it was a joy that members can still choose who represents the club, and argued that the result would give Barcelona strength. The wording reflects a familiar theme in Barcelona politics: the president is not merely an executive, but a symbol of the club’s direction and identity.

The result also reaffirms the political value of football success. Under Flick, Barcelona won a domestic treble last season, taking LaLiga, the Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Supercopa, and reached the Champions League semifinals for the first time since 2019. Those results formed the sporting center of Laporta’s campaign. They also helped offset complaints from Font, who said the club’s financial situation had not improved and criticized repeated delays in the return to the renovated stadium.

That stadium project remains a central issue. Barça said the first two tiers of the revamped Spotify Camp Nou were operational for the first time against Sevilla, taking capacity above 60,000 while work continues on the third tier. The stadium rebuild is both a practical and symbolic issue for the club: it affects revenue, matchday atmosphere, and the image of progress Laporta wants to project.

Laporta’s latest victory echoes 2021, when he also defeated Font convincingly to replace Josep Maria Bartomeu and begin a second spell in office. His earlier presidency from 2003 to 2010 included the appointment of Pep Guardiola and the club’s first Treble in 2009. That history still shapes expectations of his leadership, but the next five years will be judged on whether Barcelona can keep the sporting momentum while finishing the stadium work and defending its financial claims. For now, the members have chosen continuity.

Citations: Barcelona’s vote totals, turnout, and election setting come from ESPN’s report on the result. The stadium, player participation, and campaign context are also drawn from that report.