FC Barcelona chairperson Joan Laporta
2000–2008: Exit Núñez, enter Laporta
The departures of Núñez and Van Gaal were hardly noticed by the fans when compared to that of Luís Figo, then club vice-captain. Figo had become a cult hero and was considered by Catalans to be one of their own. Barcelona fans, however, were distraught by Figo's decision to join arch-rivals Real Madrid, and, during subsequent visits to the Camp Nou, Figo was given an extremely hostile reception. Upon his first return, a piglet's head and a full bottle of whiskey were thrown at him from the crowd. The next three years saw the club in decline, and managers came and went. Van Gaal was replaced by Lorenzo Serra Ferrer who, despite an extensive investment in players in the summer of 2000, presided over a mediocre league campaign and a first-round Champions League exit, and was dismissed late in the season. Long-serving Barcelona deputy coach Carles Rexach was appointed as his replacement, initially on a temporary basis, and managed to at least steer the club to the last Champions League spot on the final day of the season against Valencia via an exceptional performance from Rivaldo, who completed arguably the greatest hat-trick in history with an overhead bicycle kick winner in the final minute to secure qualification.Despite better form in La Liga and a good run to the semi-finals of the Champions League, Rexach was never viewed as a long-term solution and that summer Van Gaal returned to the club for a second spell as manager. What followed, despite another decent Champions League performance, was one of the worst La Liga campaigns in the club's history, with the team as low as 15th in February 2003. This led to Van Gaal's resignation and replacement for the rest of the campaign by Radomir Antić, though a sixth-place finish was the best that he could manage. At the end of the season, Antić's short-term contract was not renewed, and club president Joan Gaspart resigned, his position having been made completely untenable by such a disastrous season on top of the club's overall decline in fortunes since he became president three years prior.After the disappointment of the Gaspart era, the combination of a new young president, Joan Laporta, and a young new manager, former Dutch and AC Milan star Frank Rijkaard, saw the club bounce back. On the field, an influx of international players, including Ronaldinho, Deco, Henrik Larsson, Ludovic Giuly, Samuel Eto'o, Rafael Márquez and Edgar Davids, combined with home grown Spanish players, such as Carles Puyol, Andrés Iniesta, Xavi and Víctor Valdés, led to the club's return to success. Barcelona won La Liga and the Supercopa de España in 2004–05, and Ronaldinho and Eto'o were voted first and third, respectively, in the FIFA World Player of the Year awards.2021–present: Return of Laporta and post-Messi era
On 7 March 2021, Joan Laporta was elected president of Barcelona with 54.28% of the vote. Barcelona won their 31st Copa del Rey, their only trophy under Ronald Koeman, after defeating Athletic Bilbao 4–0 in the final. In August 2021 Barcelona found themselves unable to comply with La Liga's Financial Fair Play requirements, and revealed a club debt of €1.35bn and a wage bill accounting for 103% of total income. Negotiations with Lionel Messi, now in the final year of his contract, had been ongoing for some time. However, on 5 August 2021, Barcelona announced that they would be unable to re-sign Messi to an extension due to La Liga regulations. This was despite the fact that the club and Messi had reached an agreement over the details of a new contract. Messi departed the club after 21 years as a Barça player, and the club's all-time leading goalscorer, and signed on a free transfer with French club Paris Saint-Germain. The financial implications also restricted Barcelona in the transfer market and as a result most of the incoming players were either free transfers or loans and they had to reduce players' wages to register the incoming players.Poor performances in La Liga and the Champions League led to the sacking of Ronald Koeman on 28 October, with a club legend Xavi replacing him. Xavi could not reverse the fortunes in the Champions League, and Barcelona dropped down to the Europa League for the first time since 2003–04, subsequently exiting in the quarter-finals. In the domestic league, Xavi improved Barça's form and guided them from ninth to second, guaranteeing a Champions League spot next season. However, this also meant Barcelona finished trophyless after earlier Supercopa and Copa del Rey exits.On 15 January 2023, Xavi guided Barcelona to their first trophy since the 2021 Copa del Rey, as the Catalans defeated Real Madrid 3–1 in the Supercopa de España final.On March 10, 2023, Spanish prosecutors said they had filed a complaint against Barcelona and two of the La Liga club's ex-presidents over alleged payments to a company owned by a senior refereeing official to influence match results.On 23 March 2023, UEFA said it had opened an investigation into the club for a potential violation of the European soccer governing body's legal framework regarding payments made by the club to a company owned by a senior refereeing official.
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