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Bartomeu voted in as FC Barcelona president for the next 6 years

Xinhua, July 19, 2015 Adjust font size:

Josep Maria Bartomeu will be the President of FC Barcelona for the next six years after winning the elections for the club Presidency on Saturday.

Bartomeu won 54 percent of the vote ahead of Joan Laporta, the club President between 2003 and 2010, who polled 33 percent of the vote and August Bendito and Toni Freixa, who won 7 and 3 percent of the vote, respectively.

The result is a personal triumph for Bartomeu, who called the elections midway through last season as Barcelona looked to be struggling in the league and before they went on the end the season with a Champions League, King' s Cup and BBVA Primera Liga treble.

Bartomeu had been a Vice-President when Sando Rosell was elected to the Presidency in 2010, but replaced Rosell in January 2014 after Rosell was forced to resign over irregularities in the signing of Brazilian striker Neymar.

Barcelona as a club face changes for tax avoidance over the Neymar signing, while Rosell and Bartemeu will also have to explain their actions in court, although Bartomeu has always maintained his innocence.

Last season' s success has no doubt played its part in Bartomeu winning the vote, along with his ability to extend the contract of coach Luis Enrique and players such as Dani Alves, Jordi Alba and Pedro Rodriguez before resigning to call the elections.

Around 47,000 Barcelona club members cast their vote on Saturday slightly under half of the total number of 109,367 members, something Bartomeu said was a "an example of democracy." Endi