The man who made Pep Guardiola Barcelona manager reportedly wants to hire Mikel Arteta, if he is appointed president.
Joan Laporta was previously Barca president between 2003 and 2010 and oversaw an illustrious period of the club’s history.
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In just seven years, Barcelona won 12 trophies, including four LaLiga titles and two Champions Leagues.
Laporta took a risk in 2008 in hiring Guardiola as replacement for Frank Rijkaard even though his only managerial experience was with Barcelona B.
It was a gamble that well and truly paid off as it ushered in a era of dominance with one of the greatest club teams ever put together.
According to RAC1, Laporta is now eyeing up Guardiola’s former assistant Arteta as a potential replacement for current boss Ronald Koeman.
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Laporta is on a three-man shortlist to be the club’s new president alongside Toni Freixa and Victor Font.
Arteta, 38, has been in charge of Arsenal – his first managerial role – since December 2019.
He won the FA Cup in his first season but this term has been difficult, with the Gunners currently languishing in tenth in the Premier League.
Arteta previously worked as an assistant to Guardiola at Manchester City for three years.
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European football expert Andy Brassell told talkSPORT that it ‘may be a bit of a leap’ to suggest that Arteta would be the same as Guardiola should Barca come calling.
“(Toni) Freixa has been saying ‘we’re Barcelona, we can sign who we want’,” he said, when asked about the andidates to be Barca president.
“We’ve got Victor Font looking backwards and saying ‘we’re going to get Xavi involved and Jordi Cruyff, even though he’s a middling sporting director, because he’s got the name’.
“Laporta is saying ‘look, I’m the guy with experience here’. Of course, he was the guy with the experience who brought in Pep Guardiola.
“I guess he’s suggesting that Mikel Arteta might be more of the same, which I guess to Arsenal fans may be a bit of a leap.”
Meanwhile, Barcelona remain a club in disarray ahead of the presidential elections.
On Monday it emerged that Josep Maria Bartomeu, the previous president, was arrested following a raid on the club’s offices.
Local media report that Bartomeu and other senior figures still connected to Barcelona are being detained on suspicion of “unfair administration, corruption between individuals and money laundering”.
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