Laporta's Last Stand: Barca Presidency Heads to a March Election

What is changing at the top of Barcelona?

Barcelona president Joan Laporta is preparing to attend his last first-row appearance in the stands at Camp Nou this Saturday for the La Liga clash with Mallorca. According to AS, he plans to formally resign on Monday to enable his bid in the presidential election scheduled for March 15.

Even if he is re-elected later, he would not assume duties immediately. The plan requires him to wait until July 1, with Rafael Yuste serving as interim president until that date. Any trophies won from Monday onward would not count toward Laporta's current term, ensuring a clean separation between eras.

What happens next for the presidency?

Laporta will retain a special status as a former president, allowed into the box as a guest but not as a full top-tier participant. The club will remove some privileges, such as the official car, until a new president takes office. The interim leadership will handle day-to-day matters to keep the club stable until the new president assumes duties.

The legal mechanism aims to avoid counting time spent under the current mandate; if the successor takes over the day after the election, a full year would be counted automatically, leaving the new president with four years of a five-year term.

Conclusion: Laporta returns to the membership role, with restricted access in the stadium and ongoing responsibilities as former president, as Barcelona navigates the upcoming election. Punchlines: If Laporta's tenure lasts longer than this season's spell of luck, Barça will need a trophy room with extra shelves and a calendar that actually shows July. And if elections get spicy, Barça might appoint a referee to the board—someone who can whistle for bylaws as well as penalties.