MADRID, Dec 1 — Barcelona will hold elections for a new president on January 24, the club said yesterday, following former chief Josep Maria Bartomeu’s resignation early this year.

Bartomeu stepped down in August after the Catalan giants had been unsettled by a transfer request from their star player Lionel Messi.

One of the front runners Joan Laporta, who was at the helm of Barca from 2003-2010, a period which included four La Liga titles and two Champions League triumphs, has already announced he will run for the office.

Potential candidates must collect 2,257 support signatures with a list to be drawn up on December 14 and made official on December 23.

An election campaign will be fought over January 15-23 before the club’s stake-holding members vote either at their Camp Nou stadium or in regional offices across the country. — AFP