Barcelona elections well underway as members vote for new club president

There's something special happening at the Camp Nou on Saturday, as tens of thousands of FC Barcelona supporters pour into the stadium once more.

Only this time, Lionel Messi, Neymar, Luis Suarez and Co. are nowhere to be found.

Instead, fans (well, paying members, called socios) have come down to vote for the newest president of Barcelona.

There are but a handful of clubs around the world that operate the way Barcelona does. Rather than having an owner, Barcelona is owned by the socios, a group of roughly 145,000 fans who pay membership fees each year. Presidents are elected from within the member-ownership group, provided they are over 18 years old and can come up with the necessary support and around €75 million it takes to run.

The club has operated in this structure since 1899, and has had 40 presidents since that time. The current president, Josep Bartomeu, took over from Oriol Rosell in 2014, after Barcelona endured a couple of major scandals, including shady transfer dealings with Neymar and illegal signings of minors that earned Barca a one-year transfer ban.

Bartomeu, admittedly, has almost no chance of winning. He was indicted for committing tax fraud back in March, after all. But, Bartomeu oversaw a Messi, Neymar, and Suarez inspired treble victory in 2015, which could be enough to win over the masses.

Still, Bartomeu is not the favourite to win.

Instead, the favourite for the presidency is actually a returnee, Joan Laporta, who was the club's president from 2003 to 2010. Under Laporta, Barcelona evolved into the powerhouse it is today. With both Frank Rijkaard and Pep Guardiola as his coaches throughout those years, Laporta oversaw the emergence of players like Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and the infamous tiki-taka style of play.

During his presidency, the club won six major trophies and put three Barcelona youth academy products on the podium for the FIFA Ballon d'Or. His players also formed the core of Spain's successful 2010 FIFA World Cup victory, too.

Nearly 45,000 members have turned out so far for the elections today, and Laporta says he's feeling quite good about his chances.

"I get the feeling that we are going to win and that I'm going to be feeling very happy at the end of the day," Laporta told the club's official website. "I have seen a lot of people voicing their support for me. They remember what I did when I was president.

As each election grows in prominence, the scope and size of each candidate's promises grows exponentially, too. Laporta famously promised the acquisition of David Beckham during his campaign in 2003, and couldn't deliver, with the English midfield icon going to Real Madrid instead. To make up for that failed promise, Laporta went out and picked up Brazilian winger Ronaldinho.

This time around, both Bartomeu and Laporta have made big promises about the direction of the club. It led to a public disagreement between the two candidates regarding the club's recent €34-million acquisition of Turkish winger Arda Turan from Atletico Madrid, a deal Laporta was not too pleased with, as it had been completed after Bartomeu had stepped down, a qualifying rule required to run for elections.

"It's something improper," Laporta told reporters in Spain. "If he thought they had to sign Arda, he should have done it before resigning. It's out of order, this sense of urgency. The only explanation is that it favours the candidature of Bartomeu."

Such is the disagreement on the matter that there is a reported clause in Turan's contract that could see the deal turned around by July 20. Regardless, Turan can't play a game for Barcelona until January 2016, due to the transfer ban.

With this much dysfunction at the executive level, it's a wonder Barcelona has remained so strong on the field. The elections are set to close at 9 p.m. local time on Saturday evening. Laporta is confident he'll come out on top.

"Just like I don't remember bad moments, I can't really remember how I felt on election day in 2003," he said. "But I have a very good feeling about today. I went to bed feeling good, I woke up this morning feeling good and I hope to end today happy as well."