Enrique Riquelme weighs bid to challenge Florentino Pérez in Real Madrid presidential election

Florentino Pérez has a possible challenger, but not yet a declared one. Enrique Riquelme, chairman and founder of renewable-energy company Cox Energy, said on May 14 that he would decide “in the coming days” whether to run in Real Madrid’s presidential process after Pérez said this week he would call elections and seek another term. The latest move followed Pérez’s May 12 appearance at Real Madrid City, where the 79-year-old president said he had asked the board to begin the electoral process and that the current board would run again. Pérez said he was acting after what he described as campaigns aimed at generating opinion against him and the club. (ondacero.es) Riquelme’s emergence has put focus on the mechanics of a Real Madrid election, a process that in recent years has produced no rival candidate for Pérez. Real Madrid’s official site said Pérez was proclaimed president until 2029 on January 21, 2025, after the last process ended without opposition. (realmadrid.com) ### Who is Enrique Riquelme? Enrique Riquelme Vives is the chairman, founder and president of Cox Energy, according to the company’s management page. Cox says Riquelme was born in 1989 in Cox, Alicante, and built businesses in services, construction, infrastructure and energy before founding Cox Energy in 2014. Spanish media reports this week identified Riquelme as the businessman Pérez had alluded to when he referred to a possible rival from the energy sector. (realmadrid.com) Onda Cero reported that Riquelme said in Mexico City that he would decide soon whether to “pick up the gauntlet,” adding that, “As a madridista, I will always be available.” (coxenergy.com) ### What exactly has Riquelme said so far? Riquelme has not formally announced a candidacy. Onda Cero and El País reported that he published an open letter asking Pérez to agree to a broader election process that would allow more participation by club members. (ondacero.es) The letter, as quoted by those outlets, said Real Madrid had gone nearly 20 years without a participatory election process and that members in Spain and abroad deserved more time to debate the club’s future. El País reported that Riquelme also wrote that he met the economic and seniority requirements to stand. (ondacero.es) ### What are the barriers to running at Real Madrid? Real Madrid’s election rules are restrictive. The club’s January 8, 2025 election notice said candidacies could be submitted from January 9 to January 18, a 10-day window, and that a voting date would be announced only if more than one candidacy was proclaimed. (ondacero.es) Real Madrid’s bylaws, as summarized by AS and reflected in the club’s election notice, require a presidential candidate to be a Spanish citizen, a legal adult, current on club obligations and a member for at least 20 uninterrupted years. The most demanding threshold is a bank guarantee equal to 15% of the club’s budget. AS, citing a current budget of €1.28 billion, put that figure at about €187 million. (realmadrid.com) El País reported that Riquelme said he had the necessary financial capacity and pointed to Cox’s recent $2 billion debt issuance and his 75% stake in the company. Those claims have been made by Riquelme in his letter, not verified by Real Madrid. ### How has Pérez responded? (en.as.com) Pérez said on May 12 that he would run with the current board. In comments reported by El País from a later television interview, he dismissed Riquelme’s request to delay the process, saying that when elections were called in 2000, he did not ask for more time and instead ran and won. Pérez’s official statement did not name Riquelme. (elpais.com) Yahoo Sports, citing Madrid Universal, reported that Pérez had referred to “a businessman in the energy sector with a South American accent” when discussing possible rivals. ### What happens next? Real Madrid’s own 2025 election timetable offers the clearest guide to the next step. (realmadrid.com) The club said last year that once candidacies are filed, the electoral board admits and proclaims them the following day, with appeals allowed within two days, and voting is scheduled only if more than one candidacy is approved. (sports.yahoo.com) Riquelme said on May 14 that he would decide “in the coming days” whether to run. Pérez said on May 12 that he had asked for the electoral process to begin, and El País reported on May 13 that he said he would formally call elections on May 14. (ondacero.es) (realmadrid.com)