Barcelona's presidential election: Meet the seven candidates so far

The race to become Barcelona's next president is set to dominate Spanish football for at least the next few months, as those in contention battle it out to replace Jose Maria Bartomeu at the helm.

The outgoing chief resigned last month, and the fight to fill his void is well and truly on as the candidates jostle for position ahead of the 2021 elections.

They were initially set to take place on March 20 and 21 next year, but now look likely to be brought forward to January.

Barring extraordinary circumstances (and don't rule that out at Barca), the next president will take the reins for six years, through until 2027. And what do you need to be in the running? Well, money and power essentially.

To put yourself in the race, you need a guaranteed backing of €120million, and the signatures of about 2,250 members - or socios - at the club.

As it stands, all the confirmed runners and riders are men, and Sportsmail is here to take you through each of them to see who is likely to become the president of one of the most powerful clubs in world football.

Victor Font

The early favourite to take the presidency next year is Victor Font, a man who has well and truly distanced himself from the current regime. He was among the 20,000+ to sign a vote of no confidence against Bartomeu last month.

Interestingly, he has claimed that should he take charge, current boss Koeman would not be his manager. Font's main sway is his desire to bring back Xavi and install him as manager, with Carles Puyol also taking a significant role among the club's hierarchy.

In an interview with Cadena Ser's El Larguero earlier this year, he said: 'Even if Koeman has a great season I would not change my plans. If I become president, Koeman will not be the coach in 2021-2022.

'Xavi understands that all the pieces of the club have to fit together. A Board of Directors that lets whoever leads the sports project work, which in our case would be him.'

Font is a successful businessman and CEO of Delta Partners Group, and was the first to announce his nomination. His campaign is titled 'Si Al Futur' - 'Yes to the Future' - and he has promised to focus on youth and the club's La Masia academy.

Joan Laporta

Although he is yet to officially confirm his place on the ballot paper, former president Joan Laporta is being urged to return and has previously said that he will put his name in the hat for 2021. He was president of the club between 2003 and 2010, an era synonymous with Pep Guardiola and unprecedented success on the pitch.

Back in 2003, he centred his whole campaign around promising David Beckham's arrival, and although that never materialised expect him to put another bold claim out in his bid to take the throne.

He could use Lionel Messi as the ace up his sleeve, as the pair have a good relationship and he may be seen as the president to keep the superstar at the club beyond next summer. Of course, Laporta's arrival would also reignite the Guardiola rumours too.

In the 10 years since he was last president, Laporta has held a seat in the Catalan parliament and will be popular among those who support Catalan independence.

In short, he is well-known at Barcelona, has plenty of supporters among the 100,000-strong member list, and would be a very strong candidate to battle it out with Font.

Jordi Farre

Jordi Farre is another who signed the vote of no confidence against Bartomeu, and he made headlines recently by claiming in the media that the brother of a first-team player at the club had also added his signature.

As previously mentioned, the race to become president at Barcelona is all about what you can promise and Farre has well-and-truly latched onto that with some huge claims over the past few months.

His big one: Jurgen Klopp. Back in August, he claimed that he has held 'multiple conversations' with the Liverpool boss, noting: 'If Koeman works and does well, he would be, of course [the manager]. Obviously, we have our roadmap and we had already started several conversations with Jurgen Klopp, because it seems to us that Barca need such a coach.'

He has also outlined his plan for Messi... essentially, let him do whatever he wants. Although that may seem flippant, he will be well aware that keeping the Argentine on side could be the difference between him having a chance, and being a complete no-hoper.

In a recent interview, he said of the superstar: 'Leo will play wherever he wants. I think we have to draw up an open contract which will allow him the chance to retire at any moment, when he sees fit.

'We would be delighted if he asks us if he can spend a year playing at Newell's [his boyhood club], return and see out his playing days at Barcelona. In life, it's important to show gratitude.'

Toni Freixa

Another candidate, Toni Friexa, came out all guns blazing at the weekend after Barcelona's disappointing draw away at lowly Alaves.

Showing shades of Donald Trump in his approach, he took to Twitter to slam the refereeing 'robbery' and also hit out at the team's pink kit: 'I'm fed up with sacrificing tradition for the sake of income. That will stop.'

There will, of course, be some traditionalists among the socios that will side with that, but it is very unlikely Freixa will get anywhere near the presidency come 2021.

In 2015, he ran for the presidency but only won 3 per cent of the votes. He is a lawyer by trade and was on the board of Sandro Rosell for five seasons previously, acting as a spokesman for the legal section of the club.

In terms of his ideas should he take the reins, he recently backed Koeman and insisted that he would be given a chance: 'He has every right and every need to know that he has this confidence through his leadership and decisions. He will fully fulfill his two-year contract. We believe this is the best thing for Barcelona to do.

'The team needs stability and security, to isolate itself from electoral convulsions. I would like the other candidates to make this proposal theirs as well. Koeman's future must not become a matter of campaign. The peace of the team must be assured and Koeman's authority is also a good message for the group.'

Lluis Fernandez

Meet Lluis Fernandez: the candidate for peace. He was the third man to throw his name in the hat for the 2021 presidency, following on from Font and Laporta. A local businessman, he has spoken out about the problems at the club and how he would heal the divide between the hierarchy and the fans.

A huge advocate of La Masia, he wants to stop buying expensive players and selling on the cheap, instead putting faith in youth - both in terms of the players and the managers.

Speaking previously about Garcia Pimienta - the coach of the club's B team - he said: 'We're sure that he'll be the new Pep Guardiola. Sometimes we have trouble trusting local players here, but our project is clear and that is to instil the basic values of La Masia once again.

'There won't be any silverware if we don't invest in our own youth players. A change is needed. We're in a chaotic situation and facing a hat-trick of failures in an economic, sporting and social sense.'

One of the younger candidates on the ticket, some of his ideas will be very appealing and at first glance he seems fairly popular among the fans. Whether he will have enough clout to battle with the big boys is another thing.

Agusti Benedito

A long-time opponent of Bartomeu, Agusti Benedito was fighting to push through a vote of no confidence against the former president as far back as 2017.

'It's not the first time he's lied,' Benedito said of Bartomeu after the chief had claimed Messi had all-but signed his new contract with the club, and for years he was very vocal in his views that the president was stopping Messi commit his future at the Nou Camp.

So far, little is known about Benedito and what he would do should he become president, but he is not among the favourites.

A recent poll was conducted in the Spanish media to ask fans who they would like to become the president, and after he received 200 votes to Font and Farre's 11,000 in the early hours, Benedito took to Twitter to write: 'Programs to generate fake votes are accessible and free.'

Pere Riera

Another candidate of whom little is currently known, after he announced his plans to run for the presidency in the last few days.

Born in Barcelona in 1966, he is a director and businessman in the chemical and travel industries. He was a footballer, but not at a high level, playing for the likes of Blanes, Jupiter and Atletic Poble Nou.

It has been reported that some of his early intentions if he is elected are to promote the youth with La Masia and make the club's finances more transparent for members and fans.

Who else could run?

Of course, at this stage we don't have a full confirmed list of the candidates to be the next president at Barcelona, and there are plenty of others who could yet throw their name in the hat.

Some of the other potentials are former vice president Emili Rousaud, and former member Xavi Vilajoana.

Elsewhere, the former president of the Catalan Football Federation Jordi Roche and businessman Juan Rosell may also include their names on the list.