Laporta: "We need someone who's able to resist"

Speaking at two meetings with the press on Wednesday, Barcelona president Joan Laporta talked about the upcoming elections:

"The electoral race is taking off. I'll try to stay neutral. I want to ask all the candidates to act in a responsible way.

I hope there will be a constructive debate, a confrontation of models. We need people for whom it's very clear that Barça is above any personal interest.

I will show respect for everyone because I respect the will of all those who, with sense of responsibility, take part in the elections. That there might be two board candidates? That shows that there are several highly skilled people in the board.

To be president or director of Barça one has to love the club a lot. We have shown our respect for the club. It is a fact, real and undeniable. We have had to suffer a lot - too much - to get to live the best moments in the history of Barça, which was a privilege. I guess it's just the way it is.

To be the president of Barça, one must be able to resist the criticism of the media and the competing interests of those outside the board. This ability to resist allows one to isolate oneself and to make the decisions you think are best for Barça.

The club should be lead by responsible people, so we don't need immature or spoiled people, people who are not able to resist in difficult times. And we don't need those who hide behind presumed democratic dignity to flee during the hardest moments either. Maybe those can be good in other areas of life but not to preside Barça.

If you want to lead this club, you have to able to deal with the pressure. We need strong, courageous people, who can resist, who are aware that the club is the most important thing and goes before every other interest.

I will hand the new president a better club than the one I found when arriving. I think the current model, which in my opinion is the best for this club, can be improved and the ones most capable of doing that are the current board members who have been part of this project."

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