Joan Laporta will be competing against Victor Font to become Barcelona’s president on March 15th.
In a surprising turn of events, only two candidates made it through to the official vote, a first in the club’s grand history.
Marc Ciria was expected to be a third candidate, but his number of endorsement signatures fell below the threshold.
He received 2,844 but only 2,247 were valid, taking him out of the running.
That is likely bad news for Laporta, as there will now be no vote split against him.
His detractors can now focus their efforts on Font, with one of those being Xavi, and seemingly Lionel Messi.
Laporta has headed three terms as Barca president, from 2003 to 2010 during the club’s most glorious period.
He returned in 2021 and returned the club to winning ways, also commencing a rebuild of the Camp Nou.
However, Barca are saddled with extraordinary debt and regularly face player registration issues, something his rivals use against him.
His diplomacy has also been called into question with public comments and attacks on Real Madrid and referees deemed not befitting of the office by critics.
Official campaigns will begin on Friday and run until March 13, with Font pitching the contest as a referendum on Laporta.
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