Why I want to be Barca president again – Laporta

Joan Laporta is ready to take charge at Barcelona for a second time.

Laporta was the president between 2003 and 2010, overseeing Barcelona’s most successful ever period, and his affection for the club has seen him lead an impassioned campaign to return to the highest position at the Camp Nou.

“Because I love Barcelona,” Laporta responded when asked why he was running again. “I like challenges and this is the most important in my life right now.

“Sure I made mistakes [in first spell], but I prefer to remember the good times. I learned from mistakes and that experience will help me to not repeat them. I do not intend to look in the rear-view mirror, I am very focused on what to do from the 24th [of January].

“I have very good memories of the past, things turned out very well. Excuse me for remembering only the good. From the bad, [I aim to] learn and correct it.”

Laporta was a vocal critic of former president Josep Maria Bartomeu throughout his presidency.

“I already said in 2015 that I did not trust the people who were going to run the club nor their management model. We left such a good legacy – they wanted to take advantage of it so much but they didn’t make the appropriate adjustments.”