Josep Maria Bartomeu has successfully defended his presidency of FC Barcelona, after beating the fan favourite Joan Laporta by a hefty margin. The 52-year-old will be in charge of the club for the next six years.
47,270 votes were cast in total, as confirmed by Barcelona, and Bartomeu claimed 54.63% of the votes, way more than his closest opponent Joan Laporta who received 33.03% in Saturday’s Election. Agusti Benedito and Toni Freixa claimed 7.16% and 3.70% of the votes respectively.
Bartomeu resigned last month from his post as an Interim Board took over just for the Election period. He will take over the office and it will be interesting to see if he comes well on the promises he made during the campaign.
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The main point in Bartomeu’s manifesto was the current sponsorship agreement with Qatar Airways, which he clearly stated he wanted to keep, despite a big cloud of controversy surrounding it. Bartomeu, who took charge of the presidency after the resignation of Sandro Rosell in 2014, was the only one of the four candidates who was in favour of this agreement. The others, including Laporta, wanted to close the deal, despite the fact that it generates €50 million for the club per season.
Barcelona won a historic treble with manager Luis Enrique last season, which is considered as one of the most successful seasons in the club’s 115-year history. But the reign of Bartomeu at Camp Nou has been a controversial one.
Rosell’s reign as Barca president was a turbulent one, as the club’s success was over-shadowed by various accusations involving Neymar’s transfer fee, and then a transfer ban was also imposed on Barcelona for allegedly signing youth players, breaking the regulations of FIFA.
Before the elections, Laporta was considered as a fan favourite to take over the presidency, but the former Barca President’s pursuit of players that Luis Enrique did not want to sign, is possibly the main factor for his defeat. On the other hand, Bartomeu reportedly has a good relation with Enrique, and that may have encouraged the fans to re-elect him as Barcelona’s President.
Image Credits: www.fcbarcelona.com
