Spanish politician Joan Laporta has been re-elected as the new president of La Liga powerhouse, Barcelona, by club members on Sunday.

The 58-year-old emerged winner with a landslide victory in the election held amidst the pandemic with 30,184 votes (54.28%) defeating Victor Font who had 16,679 votes ( 29.99% ) and Antoni Freixa who came third with 4,769 votes (8.58%).

It is the fourth time that a president has taken charge at the Club in different mandates following the precedents set by Joan Gamper (1908, 1910, 1917, 1921 and 1924), Gaspar Rosés i Arús (1917, 1920, 1930) and Enric Piñeyro i Queralt (1940, 1942).

Laporta previously led the Blaugrana as president from 2003 to 2010. His time was one of the club’s most successful periods; earning 12 trophies between 2003 and 2010 including a famous treble under Pep Guardiola and with Lionel Messi as talisman.

“The challenge for the new Laporta mandate is substantial with the need to right the Club’s financial situation which has been hit badly by the coronavirus pandemic, to resolve Leo Messi’s future, the football first team’s fortunes after the disappointment of the last two seasons; the development of the Espai Barça project, a vital one for the future of the Club and the preservation of La Masia as the basis for the team’s style of play and philosophy from the youth teams to the first team,” the club said.