Font takes advantage of the Laporta-Freixa clash

An exact week before the elections to the presidency of Barcelona, Joan Laporta, Víctor Font and Toni Freixa held the first electoral debate within the framework of the 41st World Congress of Barça's Peñas. It was the first debate of the three that are scheduled before election day and as a scoring meeting revealed a Víctor Font more focused on exposing his project before the start of hostilities between Freixa and former president Laporta.

As soon as they began, both candidates had the first brush when Laporta, in Freixa's opinion, extended more than necessary in the first presentation and said to the moderator: “If you want, I'll go” to which Laporta replied “you will know.” Late in the debate, The former president reproached Freixa for living with “resentment, you must get rid of the resentment that you carry inside and be proud of the legacy we leave behind,” to which Freixa replied that “don't be angry.”

Beyond this contact, which sets the basis for future debates (on Tuesday on RAC 1 and on Friday on TV 3), the points of disagreement between the candidates were those already known throughout the campaign. Laporta attacked Font, accusing him of “maybe you've worked a lot, but badly. The proof is your continuous rectifications and the denials that you have suffered from Xavi and Jordi Cruyff ”.

Font replied that no one has denied him and that his project is not exclusive, in fact he invited Laporta to join a council of former presidents if he is elected on the 7th, and affirmed that “If Xavi, Jordi Cruyff or anyone comes out to deny me, I will immediately withdraw from the electoral race.”

Freixa claimed his independence from industrial, media, political or football groups and tried to bring the debate to the social area, Laporta opted to vindicate his experience and the successes achieved as president, while Font explained the need to modernize the club.

Among the points that unite all the candidates, he highlighted the urgent impulse to the project of the new stadium, with the nuances of knowing the details of the financing and the architectural project.

They also coincided, curiously, on aspects such as the implementation of electronic voting to decide in a referendum between the partners, aspects such as the design of the shirt. Laporta agreed with this measure, but nevertheless claiming a strong leadership like the one he represents, while Font preached more on a model of specialists in each area.

After this first contact, there is a week of intense campaign with two more debates before Barça has a new president on Sunday the seventh.