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Joan Laporta said that Lionel Messi already sent him a message congratulating him on being elected the new president of Barcelona.
Messi, 33, voted in Sunday’s elections when Laporta eliminated the competition from Víctor Font and Toni Freixa to return to the post he previously held between 2003 and 2010.
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More than 55,000 club members participated in the vote, a turnout of just over 50%, with 30,184 of them voting for Laporta to host champagne-soaked celebrations inside his campaign booth at Camp Nou.
It was the first time that Messi voted in an election, which usually takes place in the summer when he is on international service, having been highly critical of the club’s previous president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, when he tried to leave last summer.
With Messi’s contract expiring in June and his future still up in the air, Laporta said the fact that he chose to exercise his right to vote suggests he is leaning towards staying at Barça under his presidency.
“It was very nice to see Messi go to vote,” Laporta told reporters on Monday. “It’s one more proof that he loves Barça. I’m convinced he wants to stay. And yes, he has already congratulated me for winning.
Throughout his campaign, Laporta reiterated that of the three candidates he was the one with the best chance of convincing Messi to stay at the club.
The forward wanted to leave the club last August but was blocked by the Bartomeu board. With Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain showing interest, Messi said he will wait until the end of the season before making a decision.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was also among those who congratulated Laporta, post a message on social media. Laporta was the president who appointed Guardiola as Barca coach in 2008 and has always said that the door will remain open if he ever wants to return.
Meanwhile, Laporta has started working on Barça’s restructuring off the pitch.
Former Valencia general manager Mateu Alemany will take on a similar role at the Catalan club, while sources have confirmed to ESPN that Jordi Cruyff, the son of Barça legend Johan, is likely to enter as sporting director.
Cruyff is the head coach of Shenzhen FC of the Chinese Super League, but he is expected to leave that position and may fly to Barcelona later this week.
Barça’s first game since Laporta was chosen is against PSG on Wednesday in the Champions League, when they must come from a 4-1 defeat in the first leg.
In the middle of Sunday’s celebration, Laporta shouted “to Paris to see if we can produce another comeback [comeback]”in reference to Barça’s 6-1 victory against the French team in the same competition in 2017.
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