Who owns Barcelona? Who did Joan Laporta take over from in 2021?
Who are the current owners of Barcelona?
Club members, known as ‘socios’, own Barcelona. The club’s current president is Joan Laporta.
Barcelona’s members re-elected Laporta as president in 2021. He was previously the president between 2003 and 2010, a period in which the club won two Champions Leagues.
Laporta is responsible for running the club as an owner would, taking control of Barcelona’s business and sporting decisions.
What is the breakdown of ownership?
Barcelona has around 140,000 socios. More than 110,000 members have voting rights.
To become a member, you need family connections to other members at Barcelona or commit to three years of waiting before becoming a full member.
Elections for Barcelona’s presidency are held every six years.
Who are the directors of Barcelona?
The president is Joan Laporta, while the vice-presidents are Rafael Yuste i Abel, Elena Fort i Cisneros, Eduard Romeu i Barceló, Antonio Escudeo i Martinez, and Juli Guiu i Marquina.
There are 12 other members on Barcelona’s board. Many of them are responsible for Barcelona’s other sports teams, such as in basketball, handball and futsal.
What is Joan Laporta’s net worth?
Joan Laporta’s personal net worth is unknown.
A lawyer by trade, Laporta co-founded the firm Laporta and Arbós, which advises business professionals.
He also served as an MP in the Parliament of Catalonia between 2010 and 2012. He advocated for Catalan independence while in office, which continues to be a key feature of the club’s political identity.
When did Laporta become president and who was the previous president?
Joan Laporta became the president of Barcelona in 2001. He won around 54 per cent of the vote, beating former club spokesperson Toni Freixa and entrepreneur Victor Font.
Laporta served as Barcelona’s president between 2003 and 2010. It was a successful period in the club’s history as they won two Champions Leagues and built a team around a young Lionel Messi.
Josep Maria Bartomeu was the club’s previous president. He was arrested for business corruption in 2021.
Bartomeu has also been blamed for rotting club finances. A Spanish radio station also accused him of hiring social media accounts to run a smear campaign against the club personnel.
What is Joan Laporta’s record as Barcelona president?
Fan members elected Laporta on hopes of convincing club legend Lionel Messi to stay at the club.
The large hole in Barcelona’s club finances contributed to Messi leaving the club in mid-2021.
It led to a revolution at the club as Joan Laporta turned to “economic levers” to get instant cash injections in exchange for large shares in club assets. Barcelona sold its media production company Barca Studios to blockchain platorm Socios.com and its stadium’s naming rights to Spotify.
These levers brought the club around €400m. It allowed them to sign the likes of Raphinha from Leeds United and Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2022.
The club won Spain’s LaLiga last season under manager Xavi Hernández, a former Barca academy product and star player.
Barcelona’s accounts for the 2022-23 year showed a net profit of €304m. The Camp Nou is currently undergoing a $1bn revamp, with its capacity set to expand to 105,000 from 99,000.
Spanish prosecutors are investigating Laporta in an ongoing case involving alleged bribes to referees. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Barcelona are also one of two clubs who are committed to the European Super League project, alongside rivals Real Madrid. All other founding clubs abandoned the project after fan backlash.
The European Court of Justice is due to provide a verdict on the project’s legitimacy in late December.
