The Electoral Board annuls 400 mail-in votes for Florentino Pérez

MadridReal Madrid has experienced a different day with the first presidential elections in 20 years. The two candidates, Enrique Riquelme and the current leader Florentino Pérez, voted this morning at the Ciudad Deportiva de Valdebebas, on the outskirts of Madrid, as the Santiago Bernabéu is one of the venues chosen to receive the Pope of Rome. Once the polling stations closed at 8:00 PM, the poll — conducted by El Chiringuito— gives victory to Florentino Pérez with 64.1% of the votes. Enrique Riquelme would be left with the remaining 35.9%. The survey was conducted on a sample of 6,864 people.

In any case, the count at 9:00 PM has not yet begun because the Club's Electoral Board has challenged a total of 400 postal votes in favor of Florentino Pérez, as reported by both candidacies. These votes have been annulled because they had a double stamp. The one who challenged them was his opponent, Enrique Riquelme, who had already criticized the postal voting process during the election campaign, stating that members were encountering "difficulties" in voting. "Despite the difficulties [in voting], today Real Madrid has won,” Riquelme stated just after the polls closed.

Awaiting final participation, at 5:00 PM, eight hours after the polls opened, 23,593 members had cast their ballot, which represents 31.37% of the total members eligible to vote.

An "last chance"

In fact, during the last three hours of the election day, the facilities were a hive of activity. Groups of friends, couples, and entire families went to vote almost at the last minute, which suggests that the final turnout will be much higher than at 5 p.m. Not everyone agreed on their vote, but they did agree that these are "historic" elections. So much so that some even drove 400 km to come and vote. This is the case of Juan and Maria, father and daughter, who came from Cartagena, Murcia. Father and daughter voted for the first time: she, a member since birth, has just turned 18. And he could not vote in Ramón Calderón's elections in 2006. "I wouldn't miss it for the world," assures Juan, who, despite closely following the election campaign, had a clear vote: "All teams have bad periods, but Florentino Pérez has given us [many victories]. I don't trust the new [Enrique Riquelme] either. In fact, I hope that when there are elections again, there will be, in any case, more candidates."

Daniel Martínez also wanted to give him an "opportunity": "I became a member thanks to him, in 2000. He deserves one last chance." Martínez, however, acknowledges that Enrique Riquelme has fought hard: "I didn't expect him to be so close behind," he confesses. From the circle of this candidate, they explained that exit polls gave him 45% of favorable votes at one in the afternoon.

"New" ideas

It was precisely Riquelme's campaign that convinced other members to opt for him: "He followed a clean strategy and his dealings with the press have been very different [from Florentino's]," says Jesús. Julián, a member for 47 years, agrees, and after voting, he expressed himself forcefully against Florentino: "He is a dictator [...] Madrid is asleep because of him," he stated.

Riquelme has persuaded the members until the last moment. In front of the doors of the Sports City, a group of young boys were handing out invitations to members to follow the results at a party organized by Riquelme, while buses with the slogan Legacy and future passed up and down.

With his campaign, the businessman born in Cox (Alicante, 1989), tries to put an end to the reign of the veteran Florentino Pérez. However, the lack of experience has not been seen as a drawback by those who have voted for him: "Madrid needs a change [...] It's not about him being young, but that he brings new ideas," added Julián. To present himself, the president of the energy company Cox has managed to back a personal fortune of more than 187 million euros and has surrounded himself with former players like Iker Casillas, Del Bosque, Raúl or Hierro to try to stop Florentino, who will sign Mourinho as coach, while he has promised a new star, "the most expensive in history," for the stadium.

A controversial table president

The day is currently unfolding without major incidents, with the exception of the controversy arising from the presence of Carlos Clara as president of an electoral board. Clara, a fan with a violent past and linked to the far-right, was convicted in 2025 for a serious offense of assault and battery, as he had assaulted a Madrid fan at the stadium gates.