List of FC Barcelona presidents


Futbol Club Barcelona is a football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain that competes in La Liga, the most senior football league in Spain. Since its founding in 1899, the club has had 41 different presidents. The club is owned by the club-members of Barcelona, and similarly to a limited liability company, they elect the president by a ballot. The president has the responsibility for the overall management of the club, including formally signing contracts with players and staff. In Spain, it is customary for the president to watch the games in which the first-team participates, together with the president from the opposing team.

History

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On 22 October 1899, Swiss sportsman Joan Gamper placed an advertisement in the Los Deportes newspaper declaring his wish to form a football club in the city. A positive response resulted in a meeting at the Gimnasio Solé on 29 November which eleven men attended, including Walter Wild, later to become the first president of the club, and Bartomeu Terradas, who became the second president. As a result of this meeting, Barcelona was formed.[1]

In 1908, Gamper became club president for the first time, taking over the presidency to save the club from extinction.[1] The club had not won anything since the Campionat de Catalunya in 1905, and as a result was experiencing severe financial difficulties. Gamper was subsequently club president on five separate occasions between 1908 and 1925 and spent 26 years with the club. One of his main achievements was to help Barça acquire its own stadium and thus a way of generating stable income.[1] An annual pre-season competition, the Joan Gamper Trophy, has been held in his honour since 1966.[2]

The team won six Campionat de Catalunya titles between 1930 and 1938,[3] but success at national level (with the exception of the 1937 disputed title) evaded them. From the formation of La Liga until 1978, Barcelona had 20 different presidents, meaning each presidential period lasted on average two-and-a-half years. In 1978, Josep Lluís Núñez became the first elected president of Barcelona, and ever since members of the club have elected the club president. The process of electing a president of Barcelona was closely tied to Spain's transition to democracy in 1974 and the end of Franco's dictatorship. Núñez's main objective was to develop Barça into a world-class club by giving it stability both on and off the pitch.[4] His presidency lasted for 22 years, making him the longest-serving president.

After the departure of Núñez in 2000, his vice-president through the 22 years of his tenure, Joan Gaspart took over the club. During his presidency of the club, the team won no trophies and, after two-and-a-half years, Gaspart resigned his position on 12 February 2003, with the team in 15th place, two points above the relegation zone.[5] Enric Reyna was elected as temporary president until the board resigned on 5 May 2003. Hereafter, an interim commission presided until the general elections were held.[6] On 15 June 2003, Joan Laporta entered office, and was the most successful president in terms of Champions league trophies. The club won the Champions League twice within three years and completed an "unprecedented sextuple" by winning the 2008–09 La Liga, the 2008–09 Copa del Rey, the 2009 Supercopa de España, the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League, the 2009 UEFA Super Cup and the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup.[7]

On 13 June 2010, Sandro Rosell was elected president of Barcelona with more than 60% of the vote of Barça's club members, and he formally took over the presidency on 1 July 2010. He resigned in 2014 as a result of a scandal involving the signing of Neymar.[8]

Josep Maria Bartomeu replaced Rosell on January 23, 2014, before resigning in October 2020. A management commission led by Carles Tusquets took over, until Joan Laporta was elected for a second time on 7 March 2021 with over 54% of the vote.[9]

List of presidents

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B&W photo of middleaged man standing on a pitch with a football
Joan Gamper was Barcelona's founder and one of the first players.
suntanned man in business suit with smiling happily
Joan Laporta is the current president, having been elected in March 2021. He previously served between 2003 & 2010 & is the most successful president in terms of trophies won per year.
Josep Maria Bartomeu, the previous president who from 2014 until his resignation in October 2020.

Below is the official presidential history of Barcelona, from when Walter Wild took over at the club in 1899 until the present day.[10]

FC Barcelona Presidents
Name Nationality[n 1] From To Honours (total number)
Walter Wild Switzerland Swiss 29 November 1899 25 April 1901
Bartomeu Terradas Spain Spanish 25 April 1901 5 September 1902
Paul Haas German Empire German 5 September 1902 17 September 1903
Arthur Witty England English 17 September 1903 6 October 1905
Josep Soler Spain Spanish 6 October 1905 16 October 1906
Juli Marial Spain Spanish 16 October 1906 11 November 1908
Vicente Reig Spain Spanish 11 November 1908 2 December 1908
Joan Gamper Switzerland Swiss 2 December 1908 14 October 1909
Otto Gmeling German Empire German 14 October 1909 17 November 1910 1 Copa del Rey (1)
Joan Gamper Switzerland Swiss 17 November 1910 30 June 1913 2 Copa del Rey (2)
Francesc de Moxó Spain Spanish 30 June 1913 30 July 1914
Àlvar Presta Spain Spanish 30 July 1914 29 September 1914
Joaquim Peris de Vargas Spain Spanish 29 September 1914 29 June 1915
Rafael Llopart Spain Spanish 29 June 1915 25 June 1916
Gaspar Rosés Spain Spanish 25 June 1916 17 June 1917
Joan Gamper Switzerland Swiss 17 June 1917 10 June 1919
Ricard Graells Spain Spanish 10 June 1919 27 June 1920 1 Copa del Rey (1)
Gaspar Rosés Spain Spanish 27 June 1920 17 July 1921
Joan Gamper Switzerland Swiss 17 July 1921 29 July 1923 1 Copa del Rey (1)
Eric Cardona Spain Spanish 29 July 1923 1 June 1924
Joan Gamper Switzerland Swiss 1 June 1924 17 December 1925 1 Copa del Rey (1)
Arcadi Balaguer Spain Spanish 17 December 1925 23 March 1929 2 Copa del Rey (2)
Tomàs Rosés Spain Spanish 23 March 1929 30 June 1930 1 La Liga (1)
Gaspar Rosés Spain Spanish 30 June 1930 22 October 1931
Antonio Oliver Spain Spanish 22 October 1931 20 December 1931
Joan Coma Spain Spanish 20 December 1931 16 July 1934
Esteve Sala Spain Spanish 16 July 1934 27 July 1935
Josep Sunyol Spain Spanish 27 July 1935 6 August 1936[11]
Managing Commission[citation needed] N/A 6 August 1936 6 May 1939
Joan Soler Spain Spanish 6 May 1939 13 March 1940
Enrique Piñeyro Spain Spanish 13 March 1940 10 July 1942 1 Copa del Rey (1)
Josep Vidal-Ribas Spain Spanish 10 July 1942 13 August 1942
Enrique Piñeyro Spain Spanish 13 August 1942 20 August 1943
Josep Antoni de Albert Spain Spanish 20 August 1943 20 September 1943
Josep Vendrell Spain Spanish 20 September 1943 20 September 1946 1 La Liga, 1 Copa Eva Duarte (2)
Agustí Montal Galobart Spain Spanish 20 September 1946 16 July 1952 3 La Liga, 2 Copa del Rey, 2 Copa Eva Duarte (7)
Enric Martí Carreto Spain Spanish 16 July 1952 22 September 1953 1 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey, 1 Copa Eva Duarte (3)
Francesc Miró-Sans Spain Spanish 22 September 1953 28 February 1961 2 La Liga, 2 Copa del Rey, 2 Fairs Cup (6)
Enric Llaudet Spain Spanish 28 February 1961 17 January 1968 1 Copa del Rey, 1 Fairs Cup (2)
Narcís de Carreras Spain Spanish 17 January 1968 18 December 1969 1 Copa del Rey (1)
Agustí Montal Costa Spain Spanish 18 December 1969 18 December 1977 1 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey (2)
Raimon Carrasco Spain Spanish 18 December 1977 1 July 1978 1 Copa del Rey (1)
Josep Lluís Núñez Spain Spanish 1 July 1978 23 July 2000 7 La Liga, 6 Copa del Rey, 2 Copa de la Liga, 5 Spanish Supercup, 1 European Cup, 4 Cup Winners' Cup, 2 UEFA Super Cup (27)
Joan Gaspart Spain Spanish 23 July 2000 12 February 2003
Enric Reyna Spain Spanish 12 February 2003 6 May 2003
Managing Commission[citation needed] N/A 6 May 2003 15 June 2003
Joan Laporta[n 2] Spain Spanish 15 June 2003 1 July 2010 4 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey, 3 Spanish Supercup, 2 Champions League, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 FIFA Club World Cup (12)
Sandro Rosell Spain Spanish 1 July 2010 23 January 2014 2 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey, 3 Spanish Supercup, 1 UEFA Champions League, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 FIFA Club World Cup (9)
Josep Maria Bartomeu Spain Spanish 23 January 2014 27 October 2020 4 La Liga, 4 Copa del Rey, 2 Spanish Supercup, 1 UEFA Champions League, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 FIFA Club World Cup (13)
Carles Tusquets (interim)[n 3] Spain Spanish 29 October 2020 7 March 2021
Joan Laporta Spain Spanish 7 March 2021 Incumbent 1 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey, 1 Spanish Supercup (3)

Notes

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  1. ^ The information in the nationality column is according to how they were then referred to, and may not reflect their then, or current, citizenship or birthplace.
  2. ^ From 30 June 2006 to 22 August 2006, Barcelona was controlled by a managing commission.[12]
  3. ^ From 29 October 2020 to 7 March 2021, Barcelona was controlled by a managing committee with Carles Tusquets having the role of President of the Managing Committee.[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Origins (1899-1922)". FC Barcelona. Archived from the original on 2 July 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
  2. ^ Lozano Ferrer, Carles; et al. (19 February 2010). "Trofeo Joan Gamper (Barcelona-Spain) 1966–2008". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  3. ^ Ferrer, Carles Lozano (22 October 2009). "Spain – Final Tables Catalonia". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Archived from the original on 27 July 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
  4. ^ "75th Anniversary to the European Cup (1974-1992)". FC Barcelona. Archived from the original on 4 December 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
  5. ^ "Barca boss Gaspart steps down immediately". CNN. 12 February 2003. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  6. ^ "Presidency of Eric Reyna". FC Barcelona. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
  7. ^ "Kings, queens and a young prince". Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). 23 December 2009. Archived from the original on 24 December 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
  8. ^ Adriana Garcia (25 May 2017). "Ex-Barcelona chief Sandro Rosell held without bail". ESPN. Archived from the original on 21 June 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  9. ^ "New Barcelona president Joan Laporta pays tribute to Johan Cruyff and Lionel Messi". Football Espana. 7 March 2021. Archived from the original on 19 September 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Presidents" (PDF) (in Catalan). FC Barcelona. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 September 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  11. ^ Arrested and extrajudicially executed by Francoist troops.
  12. ^ "Managing Commission (2006)". FC Barcelona. Archived from the original on 6 September 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
  13. ^ "The members of the FC Barcelona Managing Committee". FC Barcelona. 28 October 2020. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
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