Joan Laporta has started his fourth term as the club’s president. He was recently re-elected for another term, having been out of power between 2010 and 2021.
After giving a speech at the official ceremony, Laporta went to the traditional match in honor of Johan Cruyff, Barcelona’s legendary player and manager. Another former Barcelona player and manager, Pep Guardiola, was in the house, too.
The two posed for a picture and seemed on friendly terms. It was Laporta who first appointed Guardiola to become
Barcelona’s manager in 2008; Guardiola left after Laporta was no longer president. When the manager left in 2012, there were rumors that he would not return to Barcelona while Laporta’s rivals were in charge.
Guardiola managed Bayern Munich for three years and then Manchester City for four, winning many titles and accolades. He recently left City, and is taking a break from coaching.
Laporta, meanwhile, has regained power at Can Barça. But there is no suggestion of a reunion, at least not yet, because Hansi Flick – who was also present at Laporta’s events – has solidified himself as Barcelona’s most successful coach in the post-Lionel Messi era.
Flick, 61, has pledged that Barcelona will be his last team before retirement. Guardiola is about five years younger. Plenty of coaches have persisted into their mid-to-late 60s in club football, or even into their early 70s. A potential reunion between Guardiola and the club he’s said his heart has always belonged to is not impossible, especially if Laporta or his allies are in charge – although there is no clear path for it at the moment.
