Joan Laporta was reelected as the president of FC Barcelona for another five years after winning a leadership vote among members of the Spanish soccer powerhouse.

Shortly after midnight in Barcelona, the club announced Laporta had won.

His only rival, Victor Font, had earlier conceded defeat and congratulated Laporta “for his unquestionable victory.” 
With the counting now over, Barcelona said Laporta received 68% of the votes.

The club said that more than 48,000 of Barca’s 114,000 club members cast ballots at Camp Nou Stadium or at four other voting stations across Catalonia in northeastern Spain and in Andorra.

“Thanks to this marvelous club, where its fans still vote to decide who will be their president and executive board,” Laporta said in his victory speech inside an auditorium at Camp Nou, flanked by members of his incoming board.

Laporta successfully presided over Barca from 2003-10 during the glory years of coach Pep Guardiola and a young Lionel Messi.

He was voted back into his post in 2021 when the club was in a dire economic situation after the lavish spending on players by president Josep Bartomeu and the financial hit of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Laporta responded to the crisis by deciding Barcelona could no longer afford Messi, who left for Paris Saint-Germain, and selling off some club assets, including 25% of its Spanish league TV rights for the next 25 years. 

The club’s debt, however, has increased under Laporta, growing from 1.3 billion euros to over 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) under his watch.

Font’s campaign tried to paint Laporta as an irresponsible manager who had ruined the future of the club, but Laporta won over more club members with his message that he had saved the club from ruin and now needed another term to finish the job.

Laporta, 63, was helped by the strong performance of the team under coach Hansi Flick and the emergence of a new star player in Lamine Yamal.

He defended his financial management by highlighting that the club has lowered its spending on player wages and boosted its revenues. The increase in debt was also partly due to a long-overdue renovation of Camp Nou, the largest soccer stadium in Europe, which will boost revenues once complete in the coming months.

Barca’s club elections have many of the trappings of a real political election, with a long campaign that was intensely followed by Barcelona’s fans in Catalonia and the local media.

Coach Flick and several players of the club’s men’s and women’s soccer teams and its other sports teams, which include basketball and handball, cast ballots at Camp Nou on Sunday.

The election took place on the same day that Barcelona’s men’s team beat Sevilla 5-2 to retain its lead of the Spanish league.

The Minnesota Vikings signed two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Kyler Murray on Thursday evening, and that means J.J. McCarthy, the man once viewed as the franchise’s QB1 solution — not very long ago — could be traded, according to the Pioneer Press‘s Charley Walters.

The Vikings’ quarterback conversation got weird in a hurry this week.

McCarthy has not expressed discontent since the Murray signing, nor has he requested a trade, but Walter’s warning is out in the open.

Kyler Murray Chatter Opened the Door for a New Round of Speculation

That didn’t take long.

Walters: Vikings Could Trade McCarthy

Walters is never shy about expounding on Vikings-themed rumors, and he took the plunge on McCarthy’s status last weekend.

He wrote, “Now that Kyler Murray seems set to be the Vikings’ starting quarterback next season, it wouldn’t be surprising if the team entertains a trade for J.J. McCarthy. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns seem like teams that might have an interest in McCarthy, potentially as a starter.”

“The Los Angeles Chargers, coached by Jim Harbaugh, who coached McCarthy to a national championship at Michigan in 2004, would seem a third possibility as a backup to Justin Herbert. The Chargers do not have a designated backup QB. Last season, it was Trey Lance from Marshall, Minn. A trade for McCarthy would require a high enough draft pick. Don’t be surprised, if the Vikings were to trade McCarthy, if they bring Carson Wentz back to play behind Murray.”

McCarthy has missed 70% of all games since joining the Vikings in 2024, so it’s safe to say his stock is at its lowest.

The Browns Fit

The Browns have several quarterbacks; the Browns may not have a quarterback, which presents a problem.

These men are the 2026 depth chart at the moment:

• Deshaun Watson
• Shedeur Sanders
• Dillon Gabriel

Cleveland could not be overly nimble at quarterback this offseason because they’re still mitigating the sin of trading for and signing Watson at $230 million fully guaranteed. However, in 2027, offloading Watson will become slightly less painful, and by then, the Browns will have a clearer indication of whether Sanders has taken the next step as the franchise guy.

In the meantime, per the Walters theory, Cleveland could acquire McCarthy and basically throw in the towel on Gabriel, a 3rd-Rounder from last year.

Cleveland.com‘s Mary Kay Cabot noted on the Browns’ quarterback situation last week, “They’re not trading for Anthony Richardson, despite widespread rumors during the first week of free agency that they’d pursue him, sources say. It’s never been a serious consideration for them, although they usually do their due diligence on available veterans to see if it’s a fit.”

“But Richardson was never in their plans, and the rumors were unfounded. At this point, the Browns are prepared to move forward with Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders as their top two contenders for the 2026 starting job, unless their remaining work on the draft-eligible quarterbacks alters those plans.”

The Steelers Fit

Most believe, at least tentatively, that Aaron Rodgers will return in 2026, his 20th season in the pros. Rodgers said last summer that 2025 would probably be his last ride, but then the offseason rolled around, and he became noncommittal about his future. It’s what Rodgers does every year, and his old friend, Brett Favre, used to do annually with the Green Bay Packers. The two share an extreme and befuddling passion for milking offseason suspense. Nobody on the planet enjoys it except for those two guys.

If Rodgers retires, the Steelers would look down at the roster and find Will Howard’s name, a 6th-Rounder from last year’s draft. If Pittsburgh is not enthused about HowardMania, it could call Kirk Cousins for a one-year bridge to get it to the 2027 NFL Draft, which is on deck to be stuffed to the gills with quarterbacks.

Otherwise, the Steelers could send a late-round pick to Minnesota for McCarthy, and the youngster could marinate behind Rodgers for a season or battle Howard for the job this summer.

It could be The McCarthy & McCarthy Show in Pittsburgh: Mike & J.J.

The Chargers Fit

This is the weirdest of them all — unless the Chargers are secretly biding their time to end the Justin Herbert era. And why on earth would they be doing that?

Sure, McCarthy and Harbaugh won a championship together at Michigan, but does that mean McCarthy wants to join Harbaugh in Los Angeles as Herbert’s backup? He has a better chance of dethroning Kyler Murray this summer than sniffing the Chargers’ lineup as the QB1. What’s more, Murray isn’t necessarily Iron Man; he could miss a few games, casting McCarthy back into the QB1 spotlight.

McCarthy to Los Angeles only makes sense if the Vikings have an urgent need to get rid of him, and Harbaugh comes knocking accordingly.

NEW DELHI: Sanju Samson, who was named Player of the Tournament in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, recently spoke about his journey after India’s historic title win. The wicketkeeper-batter played a crucial role in the tournament, scoring 321 runs in five innings at an average of 80.25 and a strike rate close to 200. His performances included several match-winning knocks as India went on to lift the trophy at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad after defeating the New Zealand national cricket team in the final.

Long relationship with Gautam Gambhir

While speaking to the media in Thiruvananthapuram, Samson talked about his long-standing bond with India head coach Gautam Gambhir. According to him, their connection goes back many years to when he played for Kolkata Knight Riders.“Gauti bhai (Gautam Gambhir) and I have a very old relationship. I think I met him when I was in KKR. He was the captain of the team and he also lives in Delhi. I also played in the same academy where he was…so it’s a very long relationship and what has happened from there till now, I think cannot be expressed in words,” he told PTI.Samson’s impressive run in the tournament also helped him surpass Virat Kohli’s record of 319 runs in a single T20 World Cup edition by an Indian, which Kohli had set in 2014.

Emotional message from Sachin Tendulkar

The 31-year-old also shared that he received a special message from cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar after India’s victory.“I got a message from Sachin, sir. It was a very emotional message for me,” said Samson.India’s triumph was historic, as the India national cricket team became the first side to win three T20 World Cup titles and also the first team to successfully defend the trophy on home soil.

Sanju Samson reflects on his journey

Samson described his comeback in the tournament as one of the most memorable phases of his career. After facing inconsistency and spending time on the bench earlier, he emerged as India’s top performer when it mattered the most, delivering key innings from the Super Eight stage against the West Indies national cricket team to the final.Reflecting on his approach to the game, Samson said he always focuses on being true to himself and playing for the team.“I never wanted to be selfless. I’ve always wanted to be myself. So I bring a lot of different qualities, a lot of strengths, a lot of weaknesses. I like to look at cricket as a team sport. So I think we play to win. And looking at what things have happened in my life lately, I definitely carry a lot of dreams with me. So a lot of youngsters, a lot of people, not even in cricket, a lot of people in different careers, they look at me like their own careers, like their own life,” Samson concluded.

Mikel Arteta believes Arsenal will be inspired by Max Dowman’s youthful exuberance as they chase silverware on four fronts.

Arteta is deciding whether to involve the 16-year-old wonderkid in Tuesday’s Champions League tie against Bayer Leverkusen at Emirates Stadium after he made history against Everton on Saturday.

Having stepped off the bench to set up the opener for Viktor Gyokeres, he then ran the length of the pitch and rolled home the second to become the Premier League’s youngest ever goalscorer.

Arsenal face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday and with the season approaching the decisive phase, Arteta insists Dowman can lift the team through his energy.

“It’s very inspiring when you see someone, almost naive, making decisions and flowing and careless playing in that manner, in that context. It’s great,” Arteta said.

“And I think probably our players realised as well. It’s a good example, playing with that flow and enthusiasm is actually very beneficial for the team.

“I didn’t expect that kind of goal, that’s for sure, but his attitude and his decision making, yes. If not, I wouldn’t have made the decision to play him.

“But then to be that precise and deliver the moment that he delivered, that’s something difficult to imagine.”

Arteta uses a “cook slowly” approach for bringing through young players and while he has been impressed by Dowman’s confidence on and off the field, he is wary of him becoming overburdened by hype.

“I think they have to cook at the optimal speed in relation to what they need and what they demand,” he said.

“He is knocking on the door at 16, saying ‘I am good enough and I can impact this team whenever it is needed’. And he is doing it when he is playing.

“We just need to bring the temperature down and understand what is the best thing for this boy at his age.

“He’s doing something phenomenal. We all know that. Let’s keep it down a little bit and respect his nature to do what he has to do, which I’m sure is going to be something really good.”

Arsenal drew the first leg of their round-of-16 tie against Leverkusen 1-1 and Arteta has called for his players to rise to the occasion when they battle for a place in the quarter-finals.

Leverkusen, positioned sixth in the Bundesliga, have published a photo on their X account showing a can of paint and the corner area at the Emirates Stadium having been removed.

The playful post – a reference to Arsenal’s goalscoring prowess at corners – is accompanied by the caption ‘That’s better!’.

“When you come to this stage in the competition, you really have to elevate your game to a different level, collectively and individually,” Arteta said.

“For sure, this will be one of those nights where we need the best from all of us in a really consistent way to go through.

“We know what’s at stake, how much we want it and we’re going to show that.”

Jermall Charlo may be presented with an opportunity to become a three-weight world champion.

Charlo made his long-awaited return to the ring last May, as he claimed a sixth-round stoppage victory over Thomas LaManna.

It was just his second fight at 168lbs and only his third since June 2021, having previously reigned as IBF super welterweight and WBC middleweight champion before a long lay-off due to injury and mental health issues.

He now may get the chance to add the WBA super-middleweight title to that list, after it was reported by Inside The Ring that he is in talks to face Armando Resendiz on the Gilberto Ramirez vs David Benavidez card at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on May 2.

Resendiz claimed the WBA interim strap at 168lbs after an upset victory over Caleb Plant last year, with that win actually scuppering plans for a match-up between Plant and Charlo.

Nearly a year on, Mexico’s Resendiz now looks likely to secure the Charlo fight himself, in what would be the first defence of his WBA title after he was elevated from that interim status and given the vacant belt following Terence Crawford’s retirement in December.

It would be a tough test against Charlo, who is ranked number three with the WBA. Despite his inactivity, the American still possesses an unbeaten record of 34-0 with wins over fighters such as Jose Benavidez Jr, Sergiy Derevyanchenko, Matt Korobov and Austin Trout. Resendiz will look to take advantage of any ring rust to put a win over a standout name on his record.

The possible championship clash would be a strong addition to the Las Vegas card before Ramirez puts his WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles on the line against Benavidez in the main event.