Florentino Perez has secured his position as the Real Madrid president until 2030 after winning the club’s first contested election in 20 years. Official data from the club’s Electoral Board revealed that the 79-year-old garnered 65 percent of the total votes, totaling 21,741 votes from the club’s member-owners. His challenger, 37-year-old Enrique Riquelme, received 11,814 votes, representing 35 percent of the electorate.
A total of 33,555 members cast their votes through in-person and mail-in ballots at the Real Madrid City Basketball Pavilion. Perez, in his post-election speech, expressed satisfaction with the victory, emphasizing the commitment to continue striving for success and titles. He also hinted at potential challenges regarding annulled mail-in votes that they plan to appeal.
Perez’s re-election is expected to lead to the formal announcement of Jose Mourinho as the manager of Real Madrid, with the club reportedly paying a 15 million euro release fee to Benfica for the Portuguese coach. During his campaign, Perez had promised to bring back Mourinho, who previously led Real Madrid to various victories, including a La Liga title and a Copa del Rey. Mourinho’s earlier tenure at the club coincided with a period of intense rivalry with Pep Guardiola’s FC Barcelona, impacting Spanish football significantly.
