MADRID: Joan Laporta returned as Barcelona president on Sunday after winning the club’s elections by a landslide, with his central pledge to try to persuade Lionel Messi to stay.
Laporta was last president at Barca between 2003 and 2010, which included overseeing the hugely successful appointment of Pep Guardiola as coach and the iconic treble-winning team of 2008/9.
In total, the club won four La Liga titles and two Champions Leagues during Laporta’s seven-year spell in charge.
The 58-year-old will return after holding off competition from Victor Font and Toni Freixa, the other two candidates to gain enough support to make the final stage.
Laporta won 30,184 votes, Font 16,679 and Freixa 4,769 from a total of 55,611…
