Sandro Rosell elected new Barcelona club president

MADRID, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Former vice-president Sandro Rosell was elected as the new president of football club Barcelona for the next four years by an overwhelming majority on Sunday night.

Rosell obtained over 61 percent of the approximately 57,000 votes cast by Barcelona club members, a long way ahead of the other candidates, Augsti Benedito (14 percent), Marc Ingle (12 percent) and Jaume Ferrer (10.8 percent).

The overall turnout at the polls was just under 48 percent of Barcelona's club members or "socios".

It is a massive victory for Rosell, who arrived at the club as the right hand of outgoing president Joan Laporta seven years ago in the summer of 2003, who had to resign in 2005 accusing Laporta of failing to fulfil the promises he had made during his election campaign.

The two had been good friends, but the relationship ended on bitter terms and Rosell published a book entitled "Welcome to the Real World" a year later in which he was strongly critical of Laporta's handling of the club.

Since then Rosell has been seen as a head for those against Laporta's rule, although he resisted the possibility of presenting himself as a candidate for the presidency in 2006 after Barcelona had won both the La Liga and the Champions League.

He has, however, publicly declared his support for current coach Pep Guardiola, so a chance in the Barcelona dugout looks to be out of the question, especially considering that Guardiola committed himself to a further year as coach before the end of last season.

Former president Laporta was elected into presidency in 2003. His seven-year mandate saw Barcelona win the La Liga on four occasions and the Champions League twice. 2009 saw the Catalan outfit achieve a world first of winning all six competitions it played in Copa del Rey, La Liga, Champions League, Spanish Supercup, European Supercup and World Club Championship.

However, Laporta's reign also saw Barcelona basketball team achieve impressive results. This season the team is playing in the final of the playoffs for Spain's ACB league title and the team has already been crowned kings of Europe after winning the Euroleague.

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