BARCELONA, 17 June 2003 — Joan Laporta became president of Barcelona on Sunday after winning over fans of the Catalan club with a pledge to buy England captain David Beckham.

The 40-year-old lawyer won the election by a landslide, according to official results. But there is still a major doubt over whether he can make good on his “deal” to sign Beckham, English soccer’s most famous player.

“I can’t be sure that we are going to sign Beckham. We hope to meet with his representatives and show them that Barcelona would be the best for Beckham,” Laporta told reporters.

“We are confident. We are waiting to hear from his representatives, we will speak with them tomorrow.” Laporta’s main opponent was Lluis Bassat, a 61-year-old publicist, who was the overwhelming favorite before United announced on Tuesday they were ready to sell Beckham to Laporta.

The deal was conditional on Laporta winning the election and Barcelona agreeing personal terms with midfielder Beckham.

Beckham, who has yet to speak publicly about his future, was said by his agents on Tuesday to be “surprised and disappointed” by United’s willingness to sell him. They said the midfielder had no plans to meet Laporta or his representatives.

Six men were running for the top job at Barcelona, one of the biggest and most successful sporting clubs in the world.

Laporta polled 52.57 percent. Bassat polled 31.80 percent. More than 51,600 of the 94,339 Barcelona club members voted.

Real Madrid, Barcelona’s great rivals, are widely tipped to make a bid for Beckham once the Spanish league season ends next weekend. Real are favorites to win the league title with one game to play and are the only club who can rival the lustre of United, the English champions. Barcelona have no chance of playing in the Champions League next season and may even struggle to reach the UEFA Cup, Europe’s secondary club championship. The newly-elected Barcelona president has promised to sign a total of five players with a net investment of 50 million euros ($58.74 million).