In the land of the “Galactics”, the chaotic (and blank) season of the Spanish giant has taken on the air of star wars between the powerful Pérez, at the head of the club since 2009 (after a first mandate between 2000 and 2006) and the ambitious Riquelme, 37 years old, still unknown to the general public a few weeks ago.
In the home stretch of this express campaign, launched after the surprise calling of new elections by the 79-year-old businessman at the end of a second consecutive season without a major title, the two men have in fact multiplied the big promises to try to convince the “socios” (supporters-shareholders) in Madrid.
In television interviews and in the major Iberian sports dailies, Pérez, widely favored for his re-election, announced the immediate arrival of two players in the event of victory on Sunday: French defender Ibrahima Konaté and Dutch full-back Denzel Dumfries, as well as the return of Portuguese coach José Mourinho, thirteen years after his first stint on the Merengue bench.
The Spanish businessman, elected for the first time in 2000 with the promise of snatching the Portuguese Luis Figo from FC Barcelona and a specialist in recruiting international stars, also promised that he would make an XXL offer of at least “150 million euros” for a new “Galactic” player.
According to the Spanish press, he would target the French winger of Bayern Munich Michael Olise, expected to be one of the headliners of the 2026 World Cup.
“Real Madrid cannot be sold”
His rival, president of the Cox group, specializing in renewable energies, went even further by presenting a disruptive project, driven by campaign promises that are audacious to say the least, including the recruitment of Manchester City big names Erling Haaland and Rodri, and Madrid legends Raul Gonzalez and Fernando Hierro as sports director and director of the training center.
Riquelme, described by Pérez as “a gentleman who talks about electrical things with a South American accent”, also assured that he wanted to install the German technician Jürgen Klopp at the head of his team, but encountered a categorical refusal from the agent of the former Liverpool coach.
Beyond these utopian announcements, the entrepreneur based his strategy on attacks against his opponent’s plan to open the capital of the Spanish giant to a minority shareholder in order to “preserve and increase the value of the club”.
“If Florentino Pérez is elected president, he insisted, Real Madrid will be for sale!”
These accusations of “privatization” pushed the emblematic President of the White House to assure before a notary that the club will remain the property of its members, even in the event of the arrival of an external investor.
It will still imply an upheaval in the historical structure of the Spanish giant, of which the “socios” are until now the only decision-making members. But not at the sporting level, where Pérez maintains that Real does not need a “revolution” to win again and continues to believe in the “Galactic” association between Kylian Mbappé, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham.
The approximately 70,000 members with the right to vote will vote at Ciudad Real Madrid, the club’s complex located in Valdebebas, on the outskirts of the Spanish capital. Voting by mail was also possible. The results will be known early Sunday evening.
