May 19, 2026
On 12 May, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez called an emergency press conference. The source notes that Perez had faced weeks of pressure due to two seasons without titles, rumors of illness, and a growingly angry fan base. Many anticipated his resignation, but instead he stated he was not resigning and announced elections.
According to the source, the move caught everyone by surprise. At Real Madrid, the world’s richest football club, calling and winning elections have long been nearly synonymous. Perez is 79 years old and has been a club member since 1 October 1961, holding member number 1,484. He arrived in Madrid as a 14-year-old boy who loved football, and has maintained his membership continuously since. The source describes this detail as a foundational pillar of his power.
To stand for election, a candidate must have been a member for at least 20 uninterrupted years; Perez has been a member for 65 years. Another significant barrier is a financial guarantee equivalent to 15% of the annual budget. The source states the club’s budget this year is around EUR1,248 million, making the guarantee approximately EUR187 million. This guarantee must come from a candidate’s own assets, with no investors, funds, or capitalist partners, and must be deposited with a notary’s office, free of any ties. When Perez first ran in 2000, he deposited EUR120 million to compete against Lorenzo Sanz, winning without complaint. Last week he recalled that moment, saying he did not ask for more time, which the source notes was a dig at his leadership rival Enrique Riquelme, though without naming him.
Beyond the endorsement and membership years, a candidacy must be backed by 10 to 20 members with specific seniority: 15 years for vice-presidents and 10 for the rest of the board. Building such a team takes years and cannot be improvised in two weeks. Enrique Riquelme is 37 years old, from Cox (Alicante), and presides over a renewable energy company that grew after buying assets of the former Abengoa in 2023. He has been a member since childhood because his father was a director during Ramon Calderon’s presidency. In theory, he could meet the economic and seniority requirements. According to reports, he asked for more time to organize his bid, and Perez took advantage of this publicly.
Perez accused Riquelme of being behind media campaigns against the club, of moving in the shadows, and of talking with electricity companies. He also made a comment about Riquelme’s Mexican accent, which generated noise given Riquelme is from Alicante but has spent time in Mexico and South America. The source notes that alongside Riquelme appears the name of David Mesonero, Iberdrola’s Director of Corporate Development and son-in-law of Ignacio Sanchez Galan, Iberdrola’s chairman. Iberdrola and ACS, Perez’s construction company, have been locked in a war of interests in the Spanish energy sector for years.
Since Real Madrid lifted the Champions League at Wembley in June 2024, the club has gone two seasons without winning top-level silverware, a drought not seen since 2006. This past season was particularly difficult: Barcelona won the domestic league title with 94 points, 11 more than Madrid. According to the website Transfermarkt, Real Madrid’s squad is worth EUR1.36 billion, the most expensive in the world, yet they won nothing. Neither Carlo Ancelotti, nor Xabi Alonso, nor Alvaro Arbeloa managed to find a successful spark for the team.
Former coach Jose Mourinho has reportedly agreed a two-year deal to return, some 13 years after his previous tenure, though his official signing will not be announced until after the election period. Alonso arrived in the summer of 2025 with a mandate for a more rigorous game and was sacked on 12 January 2026, hours after losing the Spanish Super Cup final 3-2 to Barcelona. He was replaced by Arbeloa, who previously coached Real Madrid Castilla. The decision raised many questions, and the following months did not dispel them.
The source indicates that for many, Kylian Mbappe is at the center of what went wrong. A recent online petition called ‘Mbappe Out’ spread on social media, initially aiming for 200,000 responses, and reportedly amassed 30 million signatories within three days, but the poll’s reliability is unclear. What is harder to deny is Mbappe’s alleged clash with a coaching staff member during training and his angry reaction to being flagged offside. Injury meant he was unavailable for the Clasico last week in which Barcelona clinched the title. His support was an Instagram message posted when the score was 2-0. Some fans were incensed by Mbappe being on a romantic holiday while recovering from injury.
Earlier this month, Real Madrid confirmed that Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni were fined EUR500,000 each after coming to blows in training. Valverde ended up in hospital with a traumatic brain injury and stitches after hitting his head on a table. Journalist Marcos Benito described the atmosphere at Valdebebas as decidedly frosty, with nobody talking or joking, absolute silence. These events explain why Perez called the historic press conference and elections, with the dressing room rift in the open, the league title lost, and an increasingly angry fan base.
When Perez returned to the presidency in June 2009, after three years away, there were no elections; he was proclaimed directly as the only candidate. This repeated in 2013, 2017, and 2021. The source explains that in any other context this could be described as a lack of internal democracy, but in Madrid it has a technical explanation: no one else is capable of fulfilling all the requirements and willing to try. The source notes that now, for the first time in a long time, there are concrete names on the move with money and membership years in order.
Perez did not wait to be pushed; he called the meeting, set the tempo, and went to the press conference before the narrative got out of hand. He invited anyone who wants to present themselves to do so. According to Forbes, Perez has a fortune estimated at 3.1 billion euros. He has won more European Cups than Santiago Bernabeu and presides over a club whose electoral system makes tenure the natural state of affairs. The presidential application period is open until Saturday, with candidates expected to be announced on 24 May. The electoral board then has two weeks to call the contest.