Joan Laporta steps down as president as Barcelona enters election mode

Barcelona, 15 January — Joan Laporta has formally resigned as president of FC Barcelona, triggering the club’s official entry into election mode ahead of the 15 March vote. Laporta’s departure is not the result of crisis but a statutory necessity: Article 42.f of the Barça statutes obliges any incumbent president to vacate office before seeking re-election. The decision was ratified during the board’s routine session at the Spotify Camp Nou offices, simultaneously approving the election calendar that will decide the club’s leadership through 2030.

First vice-president Rafa Yuste, long viewed as Laporta’s closest ally and until now head of the sports department, assumes the interim presidency until 30 June. He will oversee daily operations with a streamlined board: Josep Cubells becomes vice-president and secretary, Alfons Castro remains treasurer, and directors Josep Ignasi Macià, Àngel Riudalbas, Joan Solé i Sust and Sisco Pujol complete the caretaker committee.

Laporta did not resign alone. Vice-presidents Elena Fort (Institutional Area) and Rafael Escudero (Social Area) and ten directors—Ferran Oliver, Josep Maria Albert, Xavier Barbany, Miquel Camps, Aureli Mas, Xavier Puig, Joan Soler i Ferré and others—also stepped down to campaign alongside the president. Should Laporta prevail in March, the same figures are expected to return after ratification by the Assembly of Delegates, as none will appear on the ballot themselves.

Prospective candidates now have until 2 March to deliver 2,337 verified member signatures. Matchdays against Levante (22 February) and Villarreal (28 February) are likely to become battlegrounds for last-minute support. The electoral board will count and proclaim contenders between 3 and 5 March, followed by an official campaign window from 6 to 13 March. Unlike the pandemic-affected 2021 elections, mail-in voting has been scrapped; members must cast ballots in person at one of five polling stations—Camp Nou, Lleida, Tarragona, Girona or Andorra—on 15 March.

Speaking minutes after the board meeting, Laporta framed his tenure as a rescue operation. “We have saved Barça, we have recovered it economically,” he declared. “From a sporting point of view it is also a very positive moment, and what we are most proud of as a board is that we have given joy back to the fans.” He added: “We want to continue because we want to complete the work that has been done and, if possible, improve it.”

The path to re-election is not uncontested. Víctor Font, runner-up in 2021, has reopened his campaign headquarters under the slogan “our dream is to give Barça back to the people,” while former board member Xavier Vilajoana and economist Marc Ciria are expected to formalize their bids shortly. Nonetheless, club insiders regard Laporta as the prohibitive favorite, citing record revenues, shrinking debt and on-field success this season.

With the electoral machinery now in motion, Barcelona’s 150,000-plus socios have six weeks to decide whether to extend Laporta’s mandate or pivot toward an alternative project.