Florentino Perez Announces Real Madrid Elections Amid Turmoil
Florentino Perez does not step in front of the microphones often. When he does, it is usually on his terms and with a clear objective. This time was no different.
At the end of what many inside and outside the club have branded a “historic disaster” of a season, the Real Madrid president confirmed he has triggered the process for new elections at the Bernabeu. No major trophies, a carousel of coaches, open dressing-room tension: the backdrop could hardly be more turbulent.
Yet Perez walked into the spotlight to insist he is not going anywhere.
“I have asked the electoral board to begin the process to start the elections for the board of directors, for which we, this Board of Directors, will be running,” he declared. The message was blunt: the door is open, but he intends to walk through it again. “I'm calling them so everyone knows they're open to everyone, that they can run like I did. I don't give lectures, I don't go where I have to be in the spotlight.”
The words sounded like an invitation and a warning rolled into one.
Silence on Mourinho, silence on the bench
If the socios came looking for clarity on the dugout, they left with more questions than answers. The club has already burned through Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa this season, and speculation around the next man in the technical area has been relentless.
Jose Mourinho’s name, inevitably, surfaced again.
Pressed on the prospect of bringing the Portuguese back to “restore order”, Perez shut the door on any tactical debate, at least in public. “Regarding Mourinho's arrival, we're not at that procedural stage yet; we're focused on ensuring that Real Madrid belongs to its members. I want to discuss this with them, let them come forward, let them tell me what they've done for Real Madrid in their lives,” he said.
Then he drew a firm line: “I'm not going to talk about coaches or players. I'm running to return the club's assets to its members.”
The coach can wait. The ballot box comes first.
A president under siege, fighting back
If the season has bruised Real Madrid on the pitch, Perez clearly feels under attack off it. He used the appearance to mount an aggressive defence of his record and to lash out at what he sees as a concerted effort to destabilise his regime.
He spoke of “absurd campaigns” and journalists “who want me to leave,” painting himself as the last barrier between the club and outside interests. “They're being taken away from them, from what I see every day, by some journalists who want me to leave,” he claimed.
Then came the defiance.
“Not only am I not going to leave, I'm running for election because I want Real Madrid to continue belonging to its members. I ran 26 years ago and had to pay those who weren't being paid and defend the institution. I have to put an end to this absurd campaign against Real Madrid. There has never been a more glorious Real Madrid in history. I was elected the best president in the club's history, and in the history of all clubs.”
It was classic Perez: mixing grievance with grandeur, financial stewardship with sporting glory, personal legacy with institutional destiny.
“Let them run”
So far, no heavyweight rival has stepped out of the shadows to challenge him. Perez, though, insisted this will be a genuine contest – and turned his fire on his critics, both anonymous and named.
“I'm calling for elections this year so there will be candidates,” he said. Then he pointed directly at one of his loudest detractors. “That man who talks to the electric companies and has a South American accent, let him run. A Mexican accent. They say we're very bad, that we're a dictatorship. Let this man we're talking about run, and anyone else who wants to.”
It was a rare moment in which the usually controlled president allowed irritation to seep through. If you think you can do better, step forward. If not, stop sniping from the shadows.
“Florentino isn't going to leave”
The conclusion of his appearance left little room for interpretation. Perez is not preparing an exit; he is digging in.
“Florentino isn't going to leave until the members want him to,” he said. “Those who want to run should run and say they're going to do better. That's what I did before 2000, when the dead were voting. Are we going back to that era? No. We are working to make football and Madrid better, and we are going to achieve many things.”
The season may have been a disaster. The squad may be in flux. The bench may be a vacuum.
But in Perez’s mind, one thing is non-negotiable: Real Madrid will go to the polls with him on the ballot, still convinced he alone can keep the club in the hands of its members and out of the grip of those “absurd campaigns” he is now openly determined to crush.
