Renting a poster with a personal photo and the slogan `Hope to see you soon` is one of the tricks for Laporta to call for support in the race to become Barca’s President.

It has been 17 years since Joan Laporta became president of Barca, 10 years since he left office, and 5 years since his last failed election bid.

At the age of 58, the lawyer’s hair has turned salt and pepper and the first thing he emphasized in a private interview with the Guardian about Barca was not a big promise but a harsh truth: `Every

A giant poster depicting Laporta with the slogan `Hope to see you soon` was placed not only in Barcelona, but also in Madrid, 600km away.

Rival for the presidency Victor Font sarcastically said: `Joan may be an expert in advertising posters, but they don’t help you win the Champions League, build stadiums or handle debt.`

Laporta still has the same charisma and charisma as ever, but it’s hard to imagine the energy of the president in 2003 and it’s even harder to equal the success of that era.

Laporta once reached the peak of glory with Barca thanks to core figures like Guardiola and Messi in his early stages as president.

He admitted: `Maybe I am like that. This is the biggest challenge in my life and I know, accept it and am ready to face it. Barca is one of the things I value most. I supported it.

`Fate seems to want me to be present in the club’s most difficult moments. That is my destiny. I don’t see it as an obligation but only as motivation. We still have Messi and Johan through everything.

When entering the new year, Messi can officially negotiate with a new team and Man City is seen as a potential destination.

`When the best player in the world has to watch others lift the Champions League, you know things have gone wrong. We left the best possible legacy in 2010: A competitive squad

`To be fair, I also went through that period and can understand the feeling of complacency. In 2007-2098, I thought the team had conquered everything and there was no need to change. But

Laporta sees retaining Messi as the key to all action plans.

After Josep Maria Bartomeu leaves the presidency, elections will take place early next year: not an ideal time in the middle of the season and during a pandemic.

Laporta spoke of a plan with emergency measures, but changes cannot be made immediately as he is unclear about the specific situation.

According to Laporta, the current challenge at Camp Nou is almost the same as in 2003, although on a larger scale.

One of the untouchable talents in Barcelona right now is prodigy Ansu Fati – whom Laporta `very much likes` because of his `huge development potential` and `such great players need to stay`.

Compared to Bartomeu, Laporta clearly did not approve of the idea of establishing a Super League.

Laporta is still full of energy and enthusiasm at the age of 58. Photo: EFE

In his first term, Laporta successfully recruited Ronaldinho and opened Barca’s winning cycle.