Joan Laporta, former president of Spanish football champions Barcelona, announced on Tuesday that he will be a candidate in the upcoming local Catalan elections, to be held in the autumn, dpa reported
Laporta will be the leading candidate for Solidaritat Catalana (Catalan Solidarity), the small separatist party that he helped to start two months ago and which claims to have the support of 13,000 citizens.
Laporta, 48, was president of Barca from 2003 until June 1 this year, when he handed over power to his close friend turned adversary Sandro Rosell. Under his presidency, the Catalans won two Champions Leagues and four Spanish Ligas.
He was a controversial president because of his support for an independent Catalan state separate from Spain, with its own language, legal system, education system and sporting teams.
Laporta's popularity in Catalonia may be damaged by the announcement - made earlier on Tuesday by Rosell's economic vice- president Javier Faus - that the club has a total debt of 552 million euros (714.77 million dollars).
Laporta claimed, when he left the presidency on June 1, that the club had made a profit of 11.1 million euros in the 2009/10 season. On Tuesday, however, Faus pointed out that Barca had in fact opened up a budget deficit of 77.1 million euros last season