Florentino Perez Calls Elections Amid Real Madrid Crisis

Florentino Perez does not step in front of the cameras often. When he does, it is usually to lift trophies or unveil galácticos. This time, he came out to face something very different: a club reeling from what many around Real Madrid have branded a historic disaster of a season, and a fanbase demanding clarity on what comes next.

No titles. Coaching changes. Dressing-room tension. An institution that measures itself only in glory suddenly staring at a year of failure. Against that backdrop, Perez confirmed he has triggered a leadership contest at the club – and made it abundantly clear he intends to win it.

“I have asked the electoral board to begin the process to start the elections for the board of directors, for which we, this Board of Directors, will be running,” he announced.

The message was not just procedural; it was political. The president wanted it known that the ballot box is open to anyone, just as it once was to him. “I’m calling them so everyone knows they’re open to everyone, that they can run like I did. I don’t give lectures, I don’t go where I have to be in the spotlight.”

The season may be over on the pitch, but the battle for Real Madrid’s future is only just kicking off.

Silence on the bench, noise in the boardroom

Supporters tuning in hoped for a glimpse of the next era on the touchline. After the tenures of Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa, the obvious question hung in the air: who coaches this team next?

Perez refused to bite.

Pressed specifically on a potential return for José Mourinho, the man many see as a fireman for institutional chaos, he shut the door on any tactical discussion for now. “Regarding Mourinho’s arrival, we’re not at that procedural stage yet; we’re focused on ensuring that Real Madrid belongs to its members. I want to discuss this with them, let them come forward, let them tell me what they’ve done for Real Madrid in their lives,” he said.

Then came the hard line: “I’m not going to talk about coaches or players. I’m running to return the club’s assets to its members.”

The message was unmistakable. Names, formations, transfers – all parked. Ownership and power are the battleground Perez has chosen.

Under siege, Perez hits back

The 77-year-old did not just call elections; he used the podium to launch a fierce defence of his reign. In his eyes, this is not just a sporting crisis but an orchestrated campaign to unseat him and destabilise the club.

He pointed to his record: financial stabilisation, years of success, and a Real Madrid that, in his words, has never been more glorious. Perez cast himself as the shield between the socios and outside interests.

“They’re being taken away from them, from what I see every day, by some journalists who want me to leave,” he claimed. “Not only am I not going to leave, I’m running for election because I want Real Madrid to continue belonging to its members. I ran 26 years ago and had to pay those who weren’t being paid and defend the institution. I have to put an end to this absurd campaign against Real Madrid. There has never been a more glorious Real Madrid in history. I was elected the best president in the club’s history, and in the history of all clubs.”

It was vintage Perez: combative, self-assured, and unapologetically grandiose. In one breath he painted a club under attack; in the next, a president uniquely qualified to save it.

“Let them run”

For all the talk of plots and campaigns, there is, as yet, no heavyweight challenger. Perez insisted that the election is no coronation, but an open invitation to those who have sniped from the shadows.

“I’m calling for elections this year so there will be candidates,” he said, before turning his fire on unnamed critics. “That man who talks to the electric companies and has a South American accent, let him run. A Mexican accent. They say we’re very bad, that we’re a dictatorship. Let this man we’re talking about run, and anyone else who wants to.”

It was a pointed challenge: stop whispering, step into the light, and try to take the club from him in a fair fight. The tone was clear – if you think Real Madrid is a dictatorship, test the democracy.

Perez closed with a statement that sounded less like a reassurance and more like a warning to those who want him out.

“Florentino isn’t going to leave until the members want him to. Those who want to run should run and say they’re going to do better. That’s what I did before 2000, when the dead were voting. Are we going back to that era? No. We are working to make football and Madrid better, and we are going to achieve many things.”

The season has left scars and questions all over the club. The president has answered one of them: he is staying in the fight. The next move now belongs to the members – and to anyone brave enough to put their name on the ballot against Florentino Perez.