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The president of “Real” sharpens his rhetoric against the rival.
Real Madrid president and candidate for a new term Florentino Perez toughened his rhetoric against his rival Enrique Riquelme at the closing ceremony of his election campaign, held in the presence of more than 100 club members, 24 hours before the start of the presidential election.
In his speech today, Saturday, Peres revisited the most prominent aspects of his campaign plan, underlining his commitment to the club’s “membership sovereignty” principle. He also criticized his rival over some of his campaign promises and media statements, in addition to his attacks on a number of media outlets.
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Welcome to Pope Leo XIV
The president of “Real Madrid” began his speech by welcoming Pope Leo XIV, who will visit Madrid, the capital of Spain, in the coming days.
Peres, as reported by the Spanish “Marca”, said: “During his visit to Madrid, the Pope told journalists that he supports Real Madrid.” This is a great pride and honor for us. Welcome, His Holiness.”
“The members are the real owners.”
Peres emphasized that club elections represent the embodiment of the right of members to decide the future of “Real”.
He said: “Tomorrow we will return to making decisions about our future and I feel very proud because this election confirms that the members are the sole owners of the club.”
“When I took over in 2000, I personally guaranteed the club’s debts, which amounted to €147 million, so that the players and suppliers could receive what they were owed and keep the ownership of Real Madrid for its members, and we succeeded.”
He continued, “I have worked and will continue to work to protect the sovereignty of members and their right to vote. “Under my rule, no one who is not a member of Real Madrid can vote.”
He also referred to one of the controversial General Assemblies held under former President Ramon Calderon, saying: “It is impossible to repeat the meeting that no one wants to remember, when people who are not members of the club and even extreme fans of Atletico Madrid were allowed to participate in the vote.
He added that, clearly referring to his rival, “some members of that administration or their children are present on this electoral roll today, and the candidate himself is the son of a member of the board of directors of that time.”
A direct attack on Riquelme
Peres devoted most of his speech to reacting to pre-election promises made by Riquelme in the last days of the campaign.
He said: “The members of Real Madrid will not accept lies, not everything is permissible, there are people who use the jersey of Real Madrid in such a way as to offend the members.”
He mocked Riquelme’s announcement of signing Norway’s Erling Haaland, saying: “We had to endure an embarrassing situation when wrong information was spread on the TV program to deceive the members. The player’s father, his agent and the player himself then came out to vehemently deny the matter and did not threaten legal action. but everyone at Real Madrid was embarrassed, and I personally felt that way.”
He added sarcastically: “It seems that the series of scandals never ends.”
He also criticized the publication of German coach Jurgen Klopp’s name as part of a rival project, saying: “The name of the coach with whom he should negotiate was announced, and minutes later the answer came that he was not interested at all, don’t they have a coach with whom they agreed from the beginning of the campaign?”
“It seems that they have everything,” Peres continued.
“I bring the best players”
Perez defended his record in charge of the club, stressing that his credibility was built on action, not promises.
The current president of “Real”, mocking his rival, said: “I don’t present covers on television programs so that the host can create an entertainment show. Rather, I bring the best players in the world to Real Madrid.
He continued his attack by saying: “Respect for the club’s logo and symbols is essential. It is not appropriate for someone who wants to become the president of Real Madrid to laugh with the presenter of the program at the expense of the symbols of the club or with mascots chosen by people hostile to Real Madrid with the aim of mocking the greatest club in the world.”
He added that he reprimanded Riquelme that Real Madrid’s shirt was not painted with lies and its symbols did not deserve to be denigrated by anyone aspiring to become the club’s president.
Criticism of the Media and the Negrera Case
Criticism of Peres spread to some media outlets and journalists as he said: “This campaign will be remembered for the role of some journalists and the media. They crossed all the red lines by supporting a candidacy based on a lie. They specialize in spreading rumors and moving side by side with Real Madrid’s enemies.”
He also addressed the Negrea issue, stressing his commitment to continue to defend the club’s position.
He said: “I will never forget the Negrera case, while others seem to suffer from a bad memory when it comes to the biggest possible corruption scandal in sports history. I’m here to see this through.”
Economic pledges and referendum for members
At the end of the speech, Perez reviewed the strength of the club’s financial situation, emphasizing that Real Madrid leads the most popular global economic indicators.
He said: “Forbes magazine voted us this week as the most valuable football club in the world. This season we reached 1.25 billion euros in revenue and we are going to reach two billion euros soon.”
He also praised the achievements of the youth group teams, adding: “The youth team won the treble this season, winning the European Youth League, the Championship and the Cup.”
Peres promised to hold a referendum among club members on any fundamental changes to the charter, saying: “I want the members to own the club economically as they own it emotionally and historically.”
He concluded his speech by calling on the members to participate in the elections, emphasizing. “Please go and vote to continue to support Real Madrid.” The future of the club is at stake and the members own the club and its success, titles and stadium, and they always will.”
