Laporta thought about Begiristain as his successor

Catalan sports paper Sport claimed last year that Barcelona president Joan Laporta was considering the possibility of appointing current Barcelona sports director Txiki Begiristain as his successor as president of the club.

Laporta reportedly liked the idea of having an old player as president, with the example being Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

A possible plan was that Begiristain would resign as sports director at the end of last season so that the Basque would be able to run for president and have the time to prepare a candidacy.

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