Barcelona members elected Joan Laporta as club president on Sunday, turning to the man who oversaw one of their most successful periods to lead them out of an institutional and financial crisis.
Laporta, who was Barca president between 2003 and 2010, won a resounding 57.6% of the vote with more than 99% votes counted, while Victor Font came second with 31.8% and Toni Freixa was third with 9.1%.
Laporta succeeds Josep Maria Bartomeu, who resigned as president in October to avoid facing a vote of no confidence from members who turned on him after Lionel Messi tried to leave the club last August and the team were beaten 8-2 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Messi was among several Barca players to vote in the election a day after winning 2-0 at Osasuna to go second in La Liga.
Barca said 51,765 out of 109,531 eligible members had voted in the election, which was postponed from January due to coronavirus restrictions in Catalonia.
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