Laporta re-elected Barcelona president

Joan Laporta will serve a second-consecutive five-year term – and a fourth overall – as president of FC Barcelona after capturing 68.02 percent of the vote in Sunday’s election, the club confirmed.

Laporta, who stepped down last month in accordance with Barça’s statutes to stand for re-election, received 32,934 of the 48,500 valid ballots cast, a turnout that represented 42.34 percent of the eligible membership. Challenger Víctor Font garnered 14,385 votes, roughly 29.7 percent, while the remaining papers were ruled void or invalid.

The 63-year-old described the margin as “resounding” and said it imbues the club with “great strength”.

“It makes us unstoppable,” Laporta told supporters. “No-one will stop us. Exciting years lie ahead. They will be the best of our lives.”

First elected president between 2003 and 2010 – a period that included the appointment of Pep Guardiola as first-team coach – Laporta returns to office on 1 July. He thanked members for participating in what he called a “celebration of democracy and civic spirit” and vowed to “defend Barça against everything and everyone”.

Among the immediate priorities outlined in his victory address were reinforcing the senior squad and completing the redevelopment of the Nou Camp, a project already under way.

Barcelona have navigated well-documented financial constraints in recent seasons but claimed a domestic treble last campaign. They currently sit four points clear of Real Madrid at the summit of La Liga, buoyed at the weekend by Raphinha’s hat-trick in a 5-2 defeat of Sevilla.

Attention now turns to the Champions League last-16 return leg against Newcastle United on Wednesday. Lamine Yamal’s 96th-minute penalty salvaged a 1-1 draw in the first meeting at St James’ Park, leaving the tie finely poised ahead of the decisive clash in Catalonia.