Barcelona presidential candidate pushes Lionel Messi reunion plan and talks structural reform

Barcelona, 2025 – Víctor Font has re-entered the race for the FC Barcelona presidency, unveiling a manifesto that couples a sweeping governance overhaul with an audacious bid to bring Lionel Messi back into the club’s fold. Speaking to reporters ahead of the upcoming elections, the Granollers-born entrepreneur presented his “Nosaltres” platform, arguing that the club’s future hinges on dismantling the “personalist” model that has dominated Camp Nou since the 1980s.

Font, who lost to incumbent Joan Laporta in 2020, claims that concentrating power in the presidential office has repeatedly exposed Barça to financial and reputational risk. “I want to offer the members a different way of managing the club,” he said, calling for independent oversight bodies and statutory reforms that would limit executive discretion and embed professional checks at every level.

The timing of Font’s relaunch is politically charged. Hours earlier, a club member filed a complaint with Spain’s Audiencia Nacional alleging financial crimes against Laporta and senior officials. While Font refused to comment on the specifics—“suspicion disappears very quickly if you are transparent,” he offered—he distanced himself from any legal offensive, arguing that “the path of trials, lawyers, and prosecutors does not work” for the institution.

The tension spilled into the public arena when economist Xavier Sala i Martín, a former treasurer under Laporta, accused Font of orchestrating the complaint and challenged him to prove otherwise. The exchange signals an increasingly heated campaign, with Laporta still regarded as the front-runner.

On the sporting side, Font named Hansi Flick as a priority coach and outlined a revamped technical structure built around Albert Puig, Carles Planchart, and Francesc Cos. He praised current sporting director Deco as “someone the next president should keep,” insisting that executive roles must outlast any single presidency.

Font’s economic blueprint is equally ambitious. He projects €1.6 billion in annual revenue and profits of €150–200 million, earmarked to erode what he calculates as a €2.5 billion debt. Central to his capital program is the completion of the new Palau Blaugrana, the 12,000-seat indoor arena slated to open in 2030 at an estimated cost of €380 million. Season-ticket holders, he pledged, will face no price increase; instead, members who attend at least 80 percent of games would receive discounts.

Yet it is the Messi narrative that dominates headlines. Font confirmed “private conversations” with the Argentine star and proposed creating an honorary presidential role similar to the one Johan Cruyff once occupied. Beyond symbolism, Font envisions a joint Barça-Messi global brand that could generate “hundreds or thousands of millions” in commercial revenue, with potential partnerships extending to Inter Miami CF, where Messi is under contract. A farewell match—“a last dance” at a redeveloped Camp Nou—has also been floated, contingent on the player’s wishes and coaching staff approval.

Font left no doubt where he assigns blame for Messi’s turbulent 2021 exit: “The only way Messi can say goodbye the way he and Barça deserve is if Laporta is not governing from March 16 onwards.”

With ballots set to be counted in the coming weeks, Font’s fusion of institutional reform and Messi nostalgia frames the election as a referendum on both governance style and the club’s emotional compass.