Barcelona on Monday says it will hold elections for a new president on January 24, following former chief Josep Maria Bartomeu’s resignation early this year.

Bartomeu had stepped down in August after the Catalan giants had been unsettled by a transfer request from their star player Lionel Messi.

One of the front runners Joan Laporta, who was at the helm of Barca from 2003-2010, a period which included four La Liga titles and two Champions League triumphs, has already announced he will run for the office.

Potential candidates must collect 2,257 support signatures with a list to be drawn up on December 14 and made official on December 23.

An election campaign will be fought over January 15-23 before the club’s stake-holding members vote either at their Camp Nou stadium or in regional offices across the country