Joan Laporta took the oath for his third term as Barcelona president on Tuesday, and he did not take long to lay out the numbers. The club is generating more than 1.1 billion euros in revenue. Forbes bumped its valuation from $4.8 billion to $5.7 billion since 2021. Laporta has a renovated Camp Nou in the works, a Nike deal locked in, and a Spotify partnership that keeps the cash flowing.
This is not the same Barcelona he inherited in 2021, when the books were a mess and Lionel Messi had to leave. The payout on all that financial restructuring is starting to show.
Laporta won the March 15 election with 67.93% of the vote, which is basically a landslide. Victor Font came in a distant second at 29.67%. That kind of mandate lets you walk into your own inauguration and talk about the next five years like they are already written.
Laporta’s blueprint leans on La Masia and Hansi Flick
Laporta singled out Hansi Flick during his speech, and he was direct about it. We are very proud of what you are doing, he said. The seeds we have planted will take root.
Flick has the first team playing with some actual identity again. Laporta credits that to the academy. La Masia is one of our club’s greatest assets, he said. It has brought us back to excellence. A lot of the things we said have come true. That is a direct shot at anyone who doubted the youth-first model could still work at this level.
The board is staying mostly intact. Rafa Yuste remains first vice-president. Elena Fort, Ferran Olive, Joan Sole and Antonio Escudero are all back as vice-presidents. Josep Cubells keeps the secretary role. Tito Castro is the treasurer. No major shakeups, which suggests Laporta values continuity over drama.
The stadium bet is central to everything
Laporta called Spotify Camp Nou the key to long-term financial health. It will generate a lot of revenue so La Liga can grant us fair play approval, he said. That is the same hurdle that forced Barcelona to sell off assets just a few years ago. If the renovated stadium delivers what Laporta expects, the spending restrictions loosen up significantly.
He also took a moment to thank La Liga president Javier Tebas, who was in the room. Laporta called him a friend. That relationship matters, because Tebas controls the financial rules Barcelona keeps bumping against.
Laporta closed with a call for stability and a nod to the fans. We have a team that inspires, he said. We will have the best stadium and we will continue to be more than a club. Long live Barça and long live Catalonia.
It was a victory lap wrapped in a business pitch. Laporta knows he has the votes, the revenue, and the coach. Now he has to prove the numbers add up to trophies.
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