Real Madrid president calls club election

Florentino Pérez has formally triggered a Real Madrid presidential election, opening a short filing window that could produce the club’s first contested vote in two decades. Real Madrid’s Electoral Board said on May 14 that candidacies for president and board members could be submitted from May 14 through May 23 under Article 38 of the club’s bylaws. Pérez had said on May 12 that he would run again with his current board and rejected calls to step aside. The process now turns on whether any rival can meet the club’s financial and eligibility tests in time. ### Why did Pérez call the election now? Florentino Pérez told reporters at Ciudad Real Madrid on May 12 that he had asked the board to begin the electoral process and that the current board would stand again. He said he was acting because “an absurd situation has been created” by campaigns aimed, in his words, at generating opinion against Real Madrid and against him. The club’s official notice on May 14 made that decision formal. Real Madrid said the Electoral Board had called elections for president and the board of directors and published the timetable for candidacies, appeals and the electoral roll. ### What exactly is the timetable from here? May 23 is the deadline to submit candidacies, according to the club’s notice. (realmadrid.com) The day after each submission, the Electoral Board is to admit and proclaim or reject that candidacy, and any appeal must be filed within two calendar days of notification. If more than one candidacy is proclaimed, the Electoral Board will then announce the date and place of voting, Real Madrid said. (realmadrid.com) El País, citing the bylaws timetable, reported that if a candidacy were filed on May 23 and validated on May 24, the board would choose a voting day within the following 15 days, putting the outer limit at June 9. ### Why is mounting a challenge so difficult? Real Madrid’s bylaws require a presidential candidate to have been a club member for at least 20 uninterrupted years and to present a bank guarantee equal to 15% of the club’s budget, according to AS and El País. AS reported that with Madrid’s budget at about €1.28 billion, that guarantee works out to roughly €187 million. (realmadrid.com) The same rules also require Spanish nationality, legal capacity and compliance with club obligations, while barring candidates who hold executive roles at other soccer clubs or are active players, referees, coaches or technical staff, according to those reports. The guarantee applies to the board collectively, not just the presidential candidate, AS reported. (en.as.com) ### Who has emerged as the main possible challenger? Enrique Riquelme, chairman of energy group Cox, has publicly positioned himself as a possible candidate. El País identified him as a 37-year-old businessman who had explored a run in 2021 and said in May 2026 that he met the economic and seniority requirements to stand. (en.as.com) Riquelme asked Pérez for more time in an open letter published on May 13, arguing that the club had gone nearly 20 years without a participatory electoral process and that members in Spain and abroad needed more time to debate the club’s future. He also called for a “transparent and innovative” process, including mail voting and contact with eligible voting members, according to AS and El País. (elpais.com) ### How did Pérez answer Riquelme’s request? Pérez rejected the idea of delaying the process. El País quoted him as saying in a television interview: “When they called elections in 2000 I didn’t ask for more time. I stood and won.” Riquelme said on May 18 that he had the financial backing needed and would decide “in the next two or three days” whether to run. (en.as.com) He said the time allowed was very short and that he would not enter “to waste time,” according to El País. ### How unusual would a real vote be at Real Madrid? (elpais.com) Real Madrid members have not voted for a president in an election since 2006, when Ramón Calderón won, El País reported. Since Pérez returned to power in 2009, he has been the only candidate in successive elections, including 2025. (elpais.com) The next formal milestone is May 23, the deadline for filing candidacies. If more than one slate is approved, Real Madrid’s Electoral Board will publish the voting date and location, and members on the electoral roll will also be able to vote by mail under the club’s regulations. (realmadrid.com) (elpais.com)