Laporta Takes Aim at Madrid as Barça Presidential Race Heats Up
With the signature deadline looming on 2 March, Barcelona's presidential hopefuls are making their pitches — and Laporta's got Real Madrid firmly in his sights.
The clock is ticking in Barcelona’s presidential race, and with Monday’s signature deadline fast approaching, the four candidates are turning up the heat on their campaigns.
Laporta Goes Full Throttle on the Madrid Angle
Joan Laporta, the man who’s already had two stints in the Barça hot seat, is leaning heavily into one of his favourite talking points — the idea that outside forces, particularly those based roughly 600 kilometres away in Madrid, are pulling strings to undermine the club. He’s been banging this drum at pre-campaign events, warning socios that referees and institutional influence could be working against Hansi Flick’s side.
It’s classic Laporta, to be fair. He knows how to rile up the Barça faithful, and positioning himself as the bloke who’ll stand up to Real Madrid’s perceived influence is a reliable crowd-pleaser in Catalonia. Whether you buy into it or not, it’s effective politics.
Alongside the anti-Madrid rhetoric, he’s also pointing to his five-year track record — the Pedri era, the Gavi resurgence, the Lewandowski signing — as evidence he’s the right pair of hands for the next chapter.
What the Other Candidates Are Promising
The three challengers — Víctor Font, Xavier Vilajoana, and Marc Ciria — are taking a more programme-focused approach, which makes sense given they don’t have Laporta’s name recognition.
Víctor Font is going after the matchday experience, promising to slash season ticket prices by up to 75 per cent to get the ground rocking again. It’s a bold pledge that’ll resonate with supporters who’ve watched the Camp Nou atmosphere suffer in recent years.
Xavier Vilajoana is sounding the financial alarm bells loudest of the lot. He’s flagged that Barça are the most indebted club in football history and that the current board has haemorrhaged nearly 300 million euros over four years. His message is simple: sort the books or face an even bigger crisis down the line, regardless of what’s happening on the pitch.
Marc Ciria is arguably the most ambitious — or the most audacious, depending on your perspective. He’s claiming that through digital solutions and financial restructuring, he’d have 110 million euros in free cash ready to hand Flick for summer transfers. He’s also teasing a formal proposal to bring Leo Messi back to the club, claiming the Argentine’s return alone would generate a 300-million-euro impact.
What Happens Next
Here’s the timeline to keep an eye on:
- 2 March (Monday): Deadline to submit the required 2,337 member signatures
- 2–5 March: Three-day validation period run by the club
- 5 March: Official candidates publicly confirmed
It’s all moving pretty sharpish. Whoever makes it through that process will then be fighting for the keys to one of the biggest clubs on the planet. No pressure, lads.