Bartomeu elected for 2nd term as Barcelona president

Josep Maria Bartomeu has easily won Barcelona‘s presidential election and will resume the role for the next six years.

Former Barcelona president Joan Laporta and candidate for FC Barcelona’s next elections said he will do his best to put the name of Unicef back in a prominent position on the team shirt.

The 52-year-old, who took over in 2014 following Sandro Rosell’s resignation, had placed a lot of importance on keeping the current sponsorship agreement with Qatar Airways in place, despite being seen as controversial by many.

Barcelona last season achieved a rare treble of the Champions League, Spanish league, and Copa del Rey trophies. Backed by club greats Pep Guardiola and Johan Cruyff, he collected 33.03 percent of the vote. Bartomeu himself was later included in the ongoing investigation. The election was called a year early by Bartomeu at a time when tensions inside the club were running high because of poor relations between Barca coach Luis Enrique and star player Lionel Messi – remedied in dramatic fashion by the treble that followed in the spring.

However, he is now being challenged by former president Joan Laporta, previous challenger Agusti Benedito and ex-Barca spokesman Toni Freixa.

Bartomeu, a businessman with companies involved in airport and seaport facilities, will serve a six-year term. He returned to the club under Rosell, taking over the supervision of its football team and overseeing the signing of players like Neymar.

The entrepreneur previously worked alongside Rosell during a turbulent time for the club, as they were accused of various indiscretions involving the Neymar transfer, before Barca were also hit with a transfer ban due to breaking regulations regarding signing youth players. Other ballot papers were blank or spoiled.