Joan Laporta was overwhelmingly elected Barcelona president for a second time and sent a message to star player Lionel Messi that he hopes he remains at the club.
Members turned to a man who oversaw one of their most successful periods to lead them out of an institutional and financial crisis.
Laporta, who was Barca president between 2003 and 2010, won 54.28% of total votes, while Victor Font came second with 29.99% and Toni Freixa trailing in third with 8.58%.
He succeeds Josep Maria Bartomeu, who resigned as president in October to avoid facing a vote of no confidence from members who turned on him after Messi tried to leave the club as well as the team's decline on the pitch.
Messi was by far the most prominent Barca player to vote in Sunday's elections, casting his ballot at Camp Nou accompanied by his son.
Barca said 51,765 out of 109,531 eligible members had voted in the election, which was postponed from January due to coronavirus restrictions in Catalonia. A total of 30,184 people voted for Laporta.
Laporta celebrated his victory by singing the club's anthem with his campaign team before giving his victory speech, in which he gave a special mention to captain and all-time top scorer Messi.
The Argentine has less than four months left on his contract with Barca, and has not yet indicated if he will continue his two-decade association at Camp Nou.
"Twenty years ago a little boy called Leo Messi made his debut with Barca's youth team. Seeing the best player in the world come out to vote today is a clear sign of what we keep saying. Leo loves Barca," Laporta said.
"The best player in the world loves Barca and I hope that is a sign that he will stay at Barcelona, which is what we all want."
Laporta takes over a club suffering huge financial problems as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and poor governance.
Barca's last accounts showed a gross debt of more than €1.4 billion ($1.67 billion) with a net debt of €488 million. The club agreed a temporary player pay-cut last year while it had to delay payments to players in December.
Messi was unhappy with the way the club tried to portray the Barca players as mercenaries unwilling to help the club by agreeing to drastic pay cuts despite several of them - including Messi - making substantial donations to charities to help during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Yet things are looking up on the pitch, with Ronald Koeman's side winning 13 of their last 16 league games and reaching the Copa del Rey final.
They have a mountain to climb, however, to maintain their place in the Champions League. Laporta's first match in his second spell as president is Wednesday's last-16 second leg away to Paris Saint-Germain, with Barca trailing 4-1 in the tie.
He added: "We're off to Paris to stage a comeback."
Laporta was first elected in 2003 and presided over a golden period in the club's history which netted four La Liga titles and two Champions League triumphs.
He ran in the 2015 elections but was emphatically beaten by Bartomeu.
Bartomeu was arrested last Monday in a Catalan police probe related to allegations of improper management and business corruption which also saw the club's Camp Nou offices raided. He has not commented on his arrest and made use of his right not to give a statement in court.
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands
50-man Royal Rumble
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Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
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Casket match The Undertaker v Chris Jericho
John Cena v Triple H
Matches to be announced
WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Raw Tag Team Championship, United States Championship and the Cruiserweight Championship are all due to be defended
SPECS
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4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
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- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
PROFILE OF STARZPLAY
Date started: 2014
Founders: Maaz Sheikh, Danny Bates
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment/Streaming Video On Demand
Number of employees: 125
Investors/Investment amount: $125 million. Major investors include Starz/Lionsgate, State Street, SEQ and Delta Partners
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
A Long Way Home by Peter Carey
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
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Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Match info
Uefa Nations League Group B:
England v Spain, Saturday, 11.45pm (UAE)
Company profile
Name: GiftBag.ae
Based: Dubai
Founded: 2011
Number of employees: 4
Sector: E-commerce
Funding: Self-funded to date
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
RESULTS
6.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82.500 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Meshakel, Royston Ffrench (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)
7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
Winner Gervais, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (Turf) 2,410m
Winner Global Heat, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Firnas, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.50pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (D) 1,600m
Winner Rebel’s Romance, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
9.25pm Dubai Trophy (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (T) 1,200m
Winner Topper Bill, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
10pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,400m
Winner Wasim, Mickael Barzalona, Ismail Mohammed.
