Laporta elected Barcelona president for 2nd time

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - Joan Laporta will return to Barcelona after he was elected the Spanish football club's new chairman on Monday.

In a Twitter post, Barca said the 58-year-old Laporta, who had also served as the club's president in 2003-2010, won Sunday’s election with 54.2% of the vote (30,184 votes).

Laporta, a lawyer, beat two opponents in the polls, Victor Font and Antoni Freixa.

The club said that Font bagged 29.9%, while Freixa received 8.5% of the vote.

Barcelona players including the football team's Argentine superstar Lionel Messi cast his vote on Sunday at the Camp Nou Stadium.

Laporta was a member in the Catalan Parliament from 2010 to 2012.

In his seven-year tenure, Barcelona won four Spanish La Liga titles, two UEFA Champions League, one UEFA Super Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup.

Laporta was preceded by Josep Maria Bartomeu (2014-2020) and interim Barcelona President Carles Tusquets.

Bartomeu resigned from his presidential post last October.