Joan Laporta returned to his former post as Barcelona president, with the 58-year-old securing almost double the number of votes of fellow competitor Victor Font in the process of a great comeback. While the club now has a recognised leader off the pitch, there has to be a number of changes behind the scenes and those to the board will be key.

Laporta himself knows that it will have to change the board. According to Fabrizio Romano and Francesco Porzio on the Here We Go podcast, Jordi Cruyff will be the secretary for the new Barcelona board while Mateo Alemany from Valencia sporting will take up the post of sporting director.

He did a great job with them before Valencia collapsed and had to sell off their players due to the coronavirus pandemic, and will be expected to do a similar job with the Blaugrana. For Barcelona right now, selling players is much more important than buying new players to increase the numbers for an already bloated squad.

Philippe Coutinho is rumoured to leave the club due to a lack of favourable circumstances surrounding the Brazilian’s future. On the flip side, Eric Garcia of Manchester City will be the first signing of the second era under Laporta. The contract will be signed in the coming weeks. The club are in the market for a midfielder and striker too.

Barcelona have to rebuild on and off the pitch, and more importantly, Laporta might convince Messi to stay. His focus is on winning the Champions League and that has been further away with every passing season. A player like Messi needs a team with a top mentality. Laporta will propose the new Barcelona project to Messi and his father first, and the pair will then decide on the player’s future at or away from the club.