Established 1961 Sport TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 2021 Laporta elected new Barca president Returning boss has tough task of rebuilding club MADRID: Joan Laporta returned as up on Messi showing up to vote earlier in Barcelona president on Sunday after win- the day. “Seeing Leo, the best player in ning the club’s elections by a landslide, the world, come to vote with his son is for with his central pledge to try to persuade me a sign of what we have said all along,” Lionel Messi to stay. Laporta was last Laporta said. president at Barca between 2003 and 2010, which included overseeing the ‘Leo loves Barca’ hugely successful appointment of Pep “Leo loves Barca and knows that we Guardiola as coach and the iconic treble- are a big family. Hopefully that can help us winning team of 2008/9. encourage him to stay.” A change of In total, the club won four La Liga regime also leaves coach Ronald titles and two Champions Leagues during Koeman’s position uncertain, with Laporta’s seven-year spell in charge. The Laporta insisting the Dutchman “deserves 58-year-old will return after holding off respect” for his work this season while competition from Victor Font and Toni maintaining his future will depend on Freixa, the other two candidates to gain results. Koeman’s contract runs until 2022. enough support to make the final stage. “I am not worried because I have a con- Laporta won 30,184 votes, Font 16,679 tract and when we know who is going to and Freixa 4,769 from a total of 55,611 be the president of course we will talk lodged by the club’s members. Amid and I want him to show me his way,” champagne celebrations shared with his Koeman said on Friday. team on Sunday night, Laporta shouted Laporta’s main rival for the presidency with a grin on his face: “Now let’s go to was Font, who was the early favorite after Paris and see if we can make another claiming he would bring former Barcelona ‘remontada’ happen!” midfielder Xavi Hernandez in as coach. Barcelona face Paris Saint-Germain on But the team’s progress under Koeman Wednesday in the Champions League last and Laporta’s superior campaign cast BARCELONA: Spanish lawyer Joan Laporta delivers a speech at the auditorium of the Camp Nou complex after winning the election 16, with a 4-1 deficit to make up from the doubt over the promise, with Laporta for the FC Barcelona presidency on Sunday in Barcelona. — AFP opening leg. Longer-term, Laporta’s task questioning last week why Xavi had not will be to rebuild a club in crisis, with come out in support of Font publicly. ‘Great family’ after the club’s members succeeded in corruption. Voters had been due to go crippling debts exacerbated by the pan- Xavi may have been keen to keep his Perhaps most importantly, his job will achieving a vote of no confidence against to the polls on January 24 but were pre- demic, its reputation damaged and Messi options open and the Spaniard caused be to heal the deep mistrust that has him. But Bartomeu quit before facing the vented due to restrictions in relating to considering leaving for free when his con- a stir on Sunday by liking, and then developed between the board of direc- vote after overseeing a disastrous final the pandemic, meaning the election was tract expires this summer. unliking, an Instagram post of Laporta tors and the dressing room, led by Messi year that included Messi attempting to postponed. He has said he will do everything pos- casting his ballot. Laporta will also and Pique. “We are a great family,” leave, the team being humiliated by Ballots on Sunday were held at six dif- sible to keep Messi at Camp Nou and have to make decisions on Xavi’s other Laporta said. “We have a feeling of Bayern Munich in the Champions League ferent polling stations in Catalonia and campaigned heavily on the idea he was former team-mates still at the club like belonging to this club and that feeling and the club posting gross debts of 1.2 Andorra between 9:00 am and 9:00 pm, the best-placed candidate to convince the Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets and will make us all go together to face the billion euros. while just over 22,000 voters were able to Argentinian, owing to their relationship Jordi Alba, who have contributed so challenges that lie ahead.” Bartomeu spent the night in prison vote by post for the first time. Laporta’s during his previous time in charge. much but whose peak years are now The last president Josep Maria last Monday after being arrested as part victory was confirmed officially by the In his victory speech, Laporta picked behind them. Bartomeu was forced to resign in October of a police investigation into alleged club at just before midnight. — AFP.