Barcelona’s presidential election produced an awkward moment involving one of the club’s most recognisable players.
The Catalan giants were in election mode as Joan Laporta and Victor Font battled to become the club’s next president.
Joan Laporta won the elections with a landslide victory. Font secured 29.78% votes, reportedly, and Laporta won 68.18% of the votes.
Thousands of club members, known as socios, gathered at the stadium to cast their ballots. Several players and members of the coaching staff also hold membership status, which allows them to vote.
First-team figures such as Hector Fort and Aitana Bonmati successfully took part in the process. However, the situation became awkward when Marc-Andre ter Stegen arrived to vote.
The German goalkeeper joined Girona on loan in January. He appeared early at the club’s headquarters on election day.
Ter Stegen approached the polling station and even stepped up to the voting counter, expecting to cast his ballot. But officials stopped him during the process.
The German joined Barcelona from Borussia Monchengladbach in 2014 and has held club membership since arriving in Spain.
Because of that status, the goalkeeper believed he qualified to vote in the presidential election.
The 33-year-old spent time reviewing documents with his advisors in an attempt to resolve the situation. Despite those efforts, the issue could not be fixed.
According to Spanish outlet SPORT, Ter Stegen could not vote because his name did not appear in the official census of socios.
The report claims his membership details had not been updated correctly in the club’s electoral roll. As a result, the Barcelona star had to leave the polling station without casting his vote.
Ter Stegen’s season has not been easy. The goalkeeper played only eight LaLiga matches during the 2024/25 campaign, which eventually led to his loan move to Girona in January.
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