display
In the trembling about the whereabouts of superstar Lionel Messi, the fans of FC Barcelona draw new hope.
Former club boss Joan Laporta won the presidential election at the crisis-ridden Spanish top club because of the promise that he would quickly talk the Argentine, whose contract expires on June 30, all thoughts of change.
“I'll solve that at a barbecue party,” the 58-year-old had assured just three days before the vote.
On Sunday, the charismatic lawyer, entrepreneur and politician won with more than 54 percent of the vote - one of the best results so far.
And in his victory speech Messi was of course the main topic: The fact that the 33-year-old professional voted for the first time in the difficult situation and had his eldest son Thiago (8) with him in the Camp Nou stadium shows that he loves the club.
"We are all one big family," emphasized the future boss, who will be allowed to take office as soon as the league approves the mandatory guarantee of a good 124 million euros (15 percent of the club budget).
“Laporta brings joy back to the fans”, wrote the Catalan specialist newspaper “Mundo Deportivo” on Monday.
The competition paper “Sport” said that “memories of the best Barça in history” were the decisive factors in the choice.
Under the aegis of Laporta, who was in charge between 2003 and 2010, the Catalans not only won four league titles and twice the Champions League.
Laporta had taken over the club with a mountain of debt of 160 million and restructured the club.
Among other things, by downsizing what was once the 102-strong executive committee.
display
Financially, the situation is not better today than it was when he took office: The club of national goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen not only has horrific debts of 1.17 billion euros, but is also badly damaged in terms of sport and institution.
“Laporta has a lot of work to do.
But that doesn't scare him.
On the contrary.
He is self-confident and wants to make Barça the best club in the world again, ”wrote“ Sport ”.
Election had become necessary because of the "Barçagate" affair
The vote was originally scheduled for January 24th, but has been postponed due to the corona pandemic.
The total of 123 polling stations - 111 in Barcelona, five in Girona, three in Tarragona, two in Lleida and one each in Tortosa and Andorra - opened at nine in the morning.
The vote ended at 9 p.m. on Sunday.
The early election became necessary after Josep Bartomeu resigned in October after more than six and a half years.
Bartomeu had previously prevented Messi from leaving the club early in the summer.
The dispute caused additional unrest after the historic 2: 8 premier class bankruptcy against FC Bayern.
display
In the "Barçagate" affair of illegal activities on the Internet, Bartomeu was taken into police custody on Tuesday.
He was released conditionally on Wednesday.
According to the judiciary, he is suspected of having initiated a smear campaign against Messi, other players and other people who were critical of the club's leadership at the time.
Team captain Gerard Piqué, but also Messi's wife Antonella Rocuzzo, are said to be affected.
The scandal was revealed by the radio station Cadena Ser in February 2020.
In the investigation of the judiciary, among other things, the allegations of "corruption" and "unfair administration" are raised because the suspects allegedly circumvented the club's control mechanisms when making payments to the secretly commissioned communications company totaling around one million euros.
Bartomeu denies the allegations, but has not made a statement for a long time.
The fans no longer think about Bartomeu - only about the barbecue party.