Florentino faces an unknown dimension

Madrid / BarcelonaFlorentino Pérez will be president of Real Madrid until 2030, or at least that's what the results of this Sunday's elections at the white club indicate, which will be remembered for a chaotic vote count. With this new four-year mandate, Florentino will be close to almost 30 years at the helm of the club (he has been there since 2000 with a single interruption between 2006 and 2009). Now, he begins a new stage marked by internal, but also external challenges. For the first time, he will have active opposition. Enrique Riquelme, his opponent in the elections, to whom 35% of the members have given their support –a figure that has been interpreted as a wake-up call to Florentino–, has made it clear that he has come to stay: "This is not the end of anything, but the beginning of a path". But what will this path be like? And above all, will he be the only stumbling block for the white president?

Let's take it step by step. Enrique Riquelme had to build his candidacy in record time: less than a month if you consider that Florentino announced he was calling them on May 12. The businessman of Valencian origin faced the same scenario as in 2021, when he already tried to run but abandoned the race due to the short timeframe. This time, he succeeded by launching an electoral proposal at a stratospheric pace, reminiscent of the evolution of Cox, the energy company he founded and chairs. In fact, Riquelme is described in business circles as a business "shark".

"No candidacy had achieved so much in so little time," Riquelme said proudly this Sunday. The elections have served to make him known – they have even provided a boost within the business world – and to build foundations that he wants to be the basis of a future project that can be an option in upcoming elections. "When you have the support of 35% of the members, you cannot disappear," they state from his circle. The intention, however, is not to maintain the media pace of the campaign or to cling to a Madrid defeat to exploit it against the new board of directors, but rather to engage in "constructive opposition," they add from his circle.

In any case, Riquelme will not hesitate to enter into a close contest with Florentino when necessary: on Sunday he already challenged part of the votes before the club's electoral board and Florentino has said he will appeal. And not only on sporting matters, but also, and especially, in the battle over the club's model, its legal and economic future. This involves touching a nerve on whether the members will continue to be the owners of Madrid in the event of a private investor entering. "He will be very attentive to this," explain the same sources consulted. But it also involves questioning the club's financial status – Riquelme has requested an audit – which carries a debt of 1.8 billion euros. "We are the honest, proactive, and member-focused alternative for the future," the businessman assured this Sunday night.

Which investor?

Madrid's ownership is, in fact, one of Florentino's Pandora's boxes in this new four-year cycle. The newly elected president of Madrid has acknowledged that he is considering allowing private capital to enter the club and retain 5%, although it could reach 10% of the capital. At the same time, he has promised the members that they will continue to be the owners. This, however, clashes with Madrid's current structure, which is not a public limited sports company (SAE) and, therefore, would have to find a way for the operation to fit. If Florentino's Madrid truly needs or wants the money – he plans to announce new galacticos, while some income such as that from concerts at the Santiago Bernabéu remains uncertain – the white executive will seek it by all means, according to business sources. However, a negotiation with the investor will come into play here, who will certainly set conditions, the same sources indicate. Riquelme, now that the electoral contest is over, continues to ask Florentino for a debate so that this does not happen.

Florentino would have to submit it to an assembly. This is why the 2,000 associate members that Madrid has are key, and they are a decisive figure in all those economic decisions that affect the club. They decide, for example, whether Madrid should or should not carry out a capital increase for investor capital to enter, precisely. If they vote against it and reject it – they represent all the members for whom the idea of a private investor raises suspicion – the journey ends and it can be a not too traumatic outcome for Florentino, who can excuse himself by saying he left it in their hands.

Shock on the bench

After two years blank sportingly, a third of the members who voted have given a warning to the white president. In football matters –in basketball things haven't gone much better either–, the team has been falling apart: Xabi Alonso was never a coach who convinced Florentino and he got rid of him when the power struggle between the coach and Vinícius was unsustainable, leaving the Basque coach exposed. His replacement, Álvaro Arbeloa, has ended up being a bad joke that never achieved solid respect from the group. The white dressing room, in fact, has been a powder keg throughout the season: eliminated in the Champions League quarter-finals, eliminated by Albacete in the Copa del Rey round of 16, and second in the League eight points behind Barça.

To top it all off: Spain will play the World Cup without any Madrid player for the first time in history. Florentino's shock move has been to sign the last great soldier he has left on the benches, José Mourinho, and announce a €150 million signing that he has pledged to reveal soon.