Joan Laporta has been president of Barça since March 7, 2021, 1,000 days ago. His second term required him to make far-reaching decisions to address a number of institutional and sporting issues, some of which were controversial.

messi’s farewell

On August 5, 2021, Messi returned to Barcelona to sign a contract renewal, but Barça informed him that he could not be registered, opening the door for Messi to find a team after 17 years with the first team. The argument is that it is impossible to follow the “fair play” that La Liga demands. In the end, both sides ended up expressing their differences.

Giro, Liberter, Alemany

Jaume Giro resigned as Barça’s economic vice president before joining the board. Despite some disagreements, he cited his professional reasons. That gave him time to make ends meet on his 124.6 million guarantee. Eduardo Romeu filled his vacancy. Eight months later, Phelan Liberter resigned as CEO, citing disagreements with the company’s business model. Director of football Mateu Alemany has also resigned due to a lack of compatibility with sporting director Deco, who was signed to replace Jordi Cruyff.

Innovation

In addition to the changes in the institutional field, where maximum trust can be had, Laporta also revolutionized the structure of the sport. The first to join were José Ramon Alexanco, head of grassroots football, and La Masia coach Mikel Puig. The latter is not there, and his position is taken by Andrei Zepkin. In particular, former youth football coordinators Aureli Altimira and Jordi Roura, as well as Barça B coach García Pimienta, did not continue. Rafa Marquez will lead the reserve team.

CVC and Liga

CVC and Liga
Barça did not accept the agreement with CVC. The club said the roughly $250 million cash injection meant it would take on more debt and mortgage its audiovisual rights for 50 years. The company is seeking renegotiation, but its relationship with its employer has now improved.

Koeman makes way for Xavi

The president was never connected with Koeman and even the cup title was worthless. The relationship became unsustainable and after a confrontation with Rayo, he fired him. Xavi joined after canceling his contract with Al Sadd. It has just been extended until 2025 after defeating Real Madrid in the last league match and the Spanish Super Cup. His signing came as a huge shock to the fans and increased Barcelona’s enthusiasm.

Registration, cancellation, renewal

In January 2022, the club picked up the checkbook and signed Ferran Torres from City, adding Aubameyang, Traore and Alves on free transfers. Already in the summer, in search of a competitive team, Pablo Torre, Rafinha, Bellerin, Kounde, Kessie, Christensen, Marcos Alonso and Lewandowski arrived as flagships of the project. The hiring of Oriol Romeu, Gundogan and Iñigo Martínez, the loans of Joao Félix and Cancelo, and the rise of youth players like Lamine Yamal and Fermin have strengthened a team with ambitions in all things. The club renewed the contracts of Pedri, Ansu Fati, Araujo, Gabi and Balde. There’s no longer Pique, who retired, and there’s no Alba or Busquets playing in MLS.

title

The 2020-2021 Copa del Rey was Laporta’s first title. The drought lasted almost two years until Xavi won the Spanish Super Cup in January 2023. The failure in the Champions League was made up for in the 2022-2023 league. Barça won the league in each match.

assembly

With debts of 1.35 billion and a negative net worth of 451, the club was forced to seek approval for a loan of 595 million at an interest rate of 1.98% at its first membership meeting. In the new parliament, another credit project of 1.5 billion was approved to finance Espai Barça, but due to its complexity it was approved in a telematic referendum.

“lever”

In the absence of a CVC, Laporta opted to sign players relying on a “leverage” to generate extra income, in addition to making other contracts: La Liga television rights in exchange for $312; The plan was to sell 15% of the total amount to Sixth Street for 25 years. In exchange for $200, we will donate $1 million (400.5% of the accounting capital gain) and 49% of Barça Studios (24.5% to Socios.com and 24.5% to Orpheus Media).

spotify

The sponsorship agreement includes Spotify displaying its logo on the men’s and women’s first team shirts for four years and on training shirts for three years. In some cases, that logo is replaced with that of a top artist like Rosalía or the Rolling Stones. Estadi will be renamed Spotify Camp Nou for 12 years.

Section changes

Laporta revolutionized each section. In handball, head coach David Balfett and coach Xavi Pascual did not comply. In basketball, Juan Carlos Navarro replaced Nacho Rodriguez as coach. In futsal, coach Texas Rahoz and coach Andreu Plaza did not continue. In roller hockey, Gabby Cairo replaced Toni Miro as coach.

“The Negreira Incident”

The “Negreira incident” and the payments to the former vice president of the Referee Technical Committee have been an eternal headache, raising questions for all presidents from 2001 to 2018. The president participated in these payments, which he considered legitimate and documented. Players and referees reported.

super league

super league
The creation of the Super League with the support of Real Madrid caused a huge stir. Barça were one of its promoters, and this meant near-permanent conflict with La Liga and the League of Nations organizations.

Espai Barça

Laporta promoted the project. Suspicions arose over the appointment of Turkish player Rimac, but work is currently underway with the main focus being on renovating the Camp Nou. The team moved to Montjuïc until returning to the Estadi in 2024.Macro Project Director Jordi Llaurado resigned in January last year.