Joan Laporta is optimistic superstar captain Lionel Messi will remain at Barcelona after being elected president of the LaLiga giants.
Laporta – who held the post from 2003 to 2010 – won the presential race on Sunday, seeing off competition from Victor Font and Antoni Freixa to return to the position as Josep Maria Bartomeu s successor.
Attention will now turn to six-time Ballon d Or winner Messi amid serious doubts over his future at Camp Nou.
Messi has been tipped to leave on a free transfer at the end of the season, with Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain and Premier League leaders Manchester City the reported frontrunners for the 33-year-old.
After his victory, Laporta delivered a speech and said: Today marks 20 years since a boy named Leo Me…