Privatization of Real Madrid fuels election campaign between Perez and Riquelme

The question of changing Real Madrid’s institutional model has become a central issue in the club’s presidential race, surpassing even the major signings raised by candidates such as Erling Haaland, Rodri, Mikel Arteta and Jose Mourinho.

Florentino Perez, the current president and the most popular candidate to continue, floated the idea of ​​opening up part of the club’s ownership to members and investors weeks ago, a move he describes as necessary to boost revenue and keep pace with economic transformation in football.

The idea, which Peres alludes to without going into full detail, is to turn membership from an emotional and historical connection into an economic asset that can be sold at a predetermined price.

To this day, Real Madrid is run as a club owned by its members, who elect a president and board of directors without distributing profits. However, the new proposal, as put forward by Peres, involves proposing an initial percentage of between 5% and 10% for foreign investment through a referendum on changing the institutional structure.

Rival candidate Riquelme from Alicante chose to make this point his main campaign weapon. On Sunday, he appeared in Valdebebas to support the women’s team before holding a press conference where he sharply attacked Perez.

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Riquelme said: “Today confirmed what we feared, which prompted me to stand for office, the fear of selling the club after more than 120 years…

He added: “He talks about a referendum to open the door to investors, as if the issue is clear. He needs to remember that he controls 10% of ACS and has full control of it. We don’t want another Real Madrid.

Riquelme Perez publicly called on him to go with him to the notary and sign a written promise not to sell any part of the club, inviting him again to a live televised debate and concluding by saying: “No one is bigger than the club.”