Joan Laporta is the favorite to win Barcelona elections
Laporta cemented his frontrunner status with an extremely strong showing in terms of signatures
Joan Laporta’s impressive signature haul has confirmed what many observers have suspected: he is a strong favorite to become Barcelona’s club president once again.
Candidates had to present signatures from club members to qualify for the presidential race. With 10,257 signatures, Laporta blew both past the required number (2,257) to qualify for the elections, and every other candidate’s haul. Victor Font was the closest, with 4,710 signatures.
Toni Freixa (2,821) and Emili Rousaud (2,501) were the only other candidates to achieve the required number of signatures.
“We advance with a winning mentality, but there are no favorites,” warned Laporta, although the signature totals paint a different picture.
Font has been speculated to be the candidate most likely to compete with Laporta. His second place showing in the signature race seems to confirm this, although the gap is quite significant.
His “SÃ al Futur” (“Yes to the Future”) project and role in pressuring former president Josep Maria Bartomeu to resign have raised Font’s profile, but it remains to be seen whether he can best Laporta, who was the club’s president during one of their golden eras.
Font has praised Laporta’s past reign but said he would not bring the club the same forward-looking vision he would.
“He is the past, we are the future,” Font said today.
Source: barcablaugranes.com
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