There will be battle at Real Madrid: the electoral board approves Riquelme's candidacy

MadridReal Madrid will have elections. Enrique Riquelme officially presented his candidacy to preside over the club this Saturday afternoon, on the last day set by the deadlines, and on Sunday the electoral board decided to validate it. Therefore, he will have to call the members to the polls, 20 years later. The president of the energy company Cox assured that he presents an "exciting and serious" project, which "is not against anyone" but in favor of the entity and asked the members "not to be afraid".

Riquelme made the definitive move on Saturday, just the day that Florentino Pérez, already preventively, decided to start the electoral campaign machinery to maintain the presidency. And he did it in the purest Joan Laporta style. In a surprise move revealed this Saturday morning, the veteran white leader has hung a giant banner on a building next to the Santiago Bernabéu with a photo of himself and the following phrase: "A lot of history to make". Florentino accompanies the image with the seven cities where, under his presidential mandates, the merengue team has been proclaimed European champion: Glasgow (2002), Lisbon (2014), Milan (2016), Cardiff (2017), Kyiv (2018), Paris (2022) and London (2024).

The promotional action recalls Laporta's at the end of 2020, when he was still a pre-candidate for the elections, which he subsequently won on March 7, 2021 against Víctor Font and Toni Freixa. On that occasion, the current Barça president wrote: "Looking forward to seeing you again". A message to the eternal rival in reference to his first spell at the helm of the Catalan club, where he achieved the sextuple in 2009. Florentino's banner, moreover, is placed right in the same apartment building that is next to the Bernabéu.

A last-minute guarantee

The top leader of Real Madrid will have to face Enrique Riquelme, president of the energy company Cox, in the elections for the presidency of the white club. Although Riquelme's initial intention was to officially present his candidacy on Saturday morning, last-minute meetings to obtain the bank pre-approval he needs to be able to run forced him to postpone the presentation until early afternoon. Finally, it is the bank with an Andorran seal that will allow him to enter the race to dethrone Florentino Pérez, who for the first time will have a rival. "Today is a very important day for Real Madrid, after twenty years it will be possible to vote. It is not a candidacy against anyone, it is in favor of Real Madrid, a moment to explain a tremendously exciting, serious and professional project," he explained in a statement without questions. "I ask the members for courage to listen to us, to enjoy these elections and to be able to vote between two projects, ours thinking about the short, medium and long term," he added.

The Alicante businessman signed in extremis a pre-approval with the Spanish subsidiary of the Andorran bank Andbank –it is the guarantee of one of the requirements to be able to preside over the club: to have a personal fortune of 187 million euros, 15% of Real Madrid's budget–. Negotiations with Andbank Spain got underway on Friday afternoon in Madrid, where Riquelme arrived in a hurry after presiding over the General Shareholders' Meeting of Cox, which was held in Seville in the morning. The pre-approval with Andbank Spain was not notarized until half past two this Saturday midday, almost in stoppage time considering that Riquelme had until Saturday midnight to present his candidacy, according to financial sources told ARA.

The timings have not been what usually accompany an agreement of this nature, indicate the same sources to ARA, who recall that it is usually a "long negotiation". "It has all been a race against time –explain the financial sources–. The contract, the nuances, the wording, preparing it..." have to be reviewed. In addition to Andbank Spain, Riquelme will also have guarantees from other foreign financial entities, such as Scotiabank (Canada).

The option of Andbank Spain was not the first one Riquelme had, who as president of Cox had not worked there previously –nor is it an entity linked to ACS, the construction company chaired by Florentino Pérez–. Initially, Riquelme knocked on the door of large Spanish banks: Banco Santander and BBVA –the statutes of the white club oblige the candidate to find a firm that has a banking license in the State–. These, however, refused to give him the pre-guarantee. Financial sources explain to ARA that the no from these banks to grant the guarantee is because Enrique Riquelme did not meet the requirements or risk criteria. Some media, however, have pointed out that the influence of Florentino Pérez himself could also have played a role in this rejection. Given all this, the time Riquelme has had to negotiate with Andbank Spain has been limited. The businessman from Alicante knew Santander and BBVA because he was already linked to them through Cox. They are also entities linked to ACS. On the other hand, Florentino Pérez has not had to present a guarantee, as he is seeking re-election. The current president is already –after the announcement by the Electoral Board– officially a candidate.

Beyond personal wealth –Riquelme is attributed a fortune of 460 million euros, according to El Mundo's annual ranking–, the businessman from Alicante also had to meet the requirement of having been a member of Real Madrid for at least 20 years and having Spanish nationality.

Who will accompany him?

For the moment, the mystery remains as to who the men will be who accompany Enrique Riquelme in this challenge against Florentino Pérez to preside Real Madrid. It is expected that they will be businessmen linked to him, but not very media-savvy. However, it should be taken into account that appeals can also be filed against Riquelme's submitted candidacy by the Electoral Board itself – after its admission, which will occur depending on whether the businessman meets all the requirements, there are two natural days to do so–. Now that the list has moved forward, Madrid must announce the date and locations of the vote.