Barcelona will hold a new presidential election next year. Local Barcelona businessman Marc Ciria announced his candidacy this Tuesday. Last month, Victor Font, who lost to Joan Laporta in the 2021 election, also declared that he would run again. Journalists have analyzed the latest developments in the club's presidential election and discussed the impact of Messi's secret visit to Camp Nou in November.
Incumbent Barcelona president Joan Laporta will seek re-election and is widely favored to win. When he took over the club four years ago, Barcelona's financial situation was extremely dire, so it is hard to deny that the club's condition has improved significantly since then. They won their first La Liga title in four years in the 2022-23 season, and claimed three trophies and reached the Champions League semi-finals last season. However, the club's financial difficulties have not been completely resolved. While this cannot be entirely attributed to Laporta, critics have pointed out that the economic policies allowing the team to reinvest in recent years are short-term measures, including those well-known leveraged operations. In addition, the delay and cost overruns of the Camp Nou renovation project have also been questioned.
Laporta's distinctive personality and combative style are deeply loved by Barcelona members, but the club's huge debt of approximately 1.45 billion euros is a major problem. Barcelona is currently the football club with the highest debt in the world, which makes it difficult to meet La Liga's financial expenditure regulations. Victor Font is likely Laporta's most competitive opposition candidate. When he officially announced his bid for the Barcelona presidency again, the team's former head coach Xavi attended his press conference to show his support.
Xavi Vilajoana, a preliminary candidate in the 2021 Barcelona presidential election, also announced his re-election bid. He graduated from La Masia youth academy, played for Barcelona's third team in the 1990s, and once played for local lower-league teams. He is best known for serving as a club executive during Josep Maria Bartomeu's tenure as Barcelona president, and was in charge of managing Barcelona's youth academy from 2019 to 2021.
46-year-old economist and businessman Marc Ciria is running for the first time. He was an advisor to Laporta during his 2015 election campaign, which ultimately lost to Bartomeu. In recent years, Ciria has gradually emerged in the media and often comments on Barcelona's financial situation. Next year is likely to be Laporta's last time running as a candidate in the Barcelona presidential election; to run again, he will have to wait until 2031, when he will be 69 years old.
Laporta seems poised to win re-election, but his relationship with Messi has become a matter of concern. In the election four years ago, Laporta capitalized on his past friendship with Messi and portrayed himself as the president who could keep the Barcelona icon at the club. However, less than a year after being elected, Messi left the club in tears because Barcelona could not afford his contract extension. Since then, the relationship between Messi and Laporta has broken down. Messi did not get a proper farewell (due to pandemic restrictions), which remains a sore point for Barcelona fans to this day. As long as Laporta remains in office, a reunion seems unlikely, which will undoubtedly become a point that his election rivals can exploit.
It is understood that at least one of Laporta's opponents has made contact with Messi's team, but sources close to the player insist that he has no intention of intervening in any election campaign. Nevertheless, his secret trip to Camp Nou last month sent a clear politically-tinged message.
Messi's sudden and unannounced visit to Camp Nou was interpreted on the one hand as a sign of his love for Barcelona, and on the other as a subtle dig at Laporta, which to some extent left room for other candidates to attack Laporta. Although the Messi factor may shake Laporta's advantage in the election, there are currently no signs that Messi himself is willing to get involved in deeper political struggles. However, his name will be frequently mentioned in the debates over the next few months.
