Joan Laporta's five-year reign as Barcelona president could be brought to an end on Sunday if club members decide to oust him in a motion of censure.

Fans will head to the polls after club member Oriol Giralt collected the 5882 member signatures required to request a referendum on the Barca presidency.

Laporta needs to win the backing of over two-thirds of voters with a minimum turnout of 10 per cent of members entitled to take part in order to remain in charge.

The club's board of directors has come in for heavy criticism after the club suffered their second consecutive season without a trophy.

Fans staged protests over the club's performances toward the end of last season, with many calling for Laporta to resign before the petition was started.

The directors responded by sacking coach Frank Rijkaard, replacing him with former Barca captain Pep Guardiola, while telling senior players Samuel Eto'o, Ronaldinho and Deco they are free to leave the club.

They have also been extremely active in the transfer market this summer, bringing in Brazilian right-back Daniel Alves and Mali midfielder Seydou Keita from Sevilla, former youth team defender Gerard Pique from Manchester United and Uruguay centre back Martin Caceres from Recreativo Huelva.

Should Laporta fail to win the fans' confidence, a presidential election will begin in which his former right-hand man Sandro Rosell has said he will stand.

The man responsible for bringing Ronaldinho to the Nou Camp has been highly vocal in his criticisms of Laporta, accusing him of of trying to fool supporters by doing the work they should have been doing in the past two years in only a few months.

The vote will take place between 7am and 7pm (BST) with the result expected to be announced later on Sunday.

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