I would argue having a group on the team that has the moniker "Ibiza boys" and giving up mid season vacation days like they are going out of fashion is a bit more of a factor worth considering.
Its incredibly unlikely that Florentino is literally the only person who has these qualities. Not to mention that if you keep tying the club to Florentino's supposedly unique qualities literally sets you up for an eventual collapse for the simple reason that the guy is 80 and no one lives forever. Personally I am certain he is already losing the plot because hes in the game for too long and has become complacent and delusional that he wasnt in his early time. But apparently everyone around here who was disgusted from what has transpired this season, now when the chips are down are going "well actually its not that bad". Well it its not that bad, stop arguing among each other for Mbappe vs Vinicius or Arbeloa vs Xabi, lap up the Mourinho circus like its not a complete joke and praise the business acumen of Florentino and his empire like it is any consolation about the football project's sorry state. But you will keep complaining and its plain foolish. The man is pulling the fanbase by the strings. But the Bernabeu is right on this one. Flo's gotta go.
The club profits from Florentino's lifelong relations with government officials, and in turn he profits from having the club as a golden door opener. It's much easier to get crucial construction that is supposed to generate millions approved via handshake when you're connected to the people directly. That's kind of the issue here, that you might know the football, the coaches and the players, but Florentino got his start in a government position, and has remained tied to that world ever since. People praise him for "getting the club free of debt" but ignore that he basically got gift after gift and every decision was made in his favor ever since he first took the position. You just have to see how he talks with/about certain people in office to understand the kind of leverage he's often using. It's not that the job becomes impossible for anybody else, it's that there's an increased difficulty level to it.
Total nonsense man. I get that he might not be the most qualified or best suited but pretending like anybody that presents an alternative to Perez is a Tebas puppet is insulting to our intelligence.
But hendrix, that's not how it usually works in the real world. As a concept its great, add sugar, add spice, get rid of the guy who wanted more spice but keep the sugar.... i am 40 now and i've seen a bit of the world and it's always been you take the good with the bad with most people and you try to find people who bring more good than bad. No organization ever ran perfectly simply because no human is perfect, not even a bunch of humans put together can give us that. I don't agree with the way the club has moved these last 2 years but at the same time i see the good that's been done as well. If you take Florentino out of the equation, other variables also are taken off the table as well.
Agree with the first part. However, my view is that at 80 (which he will be this term if re-elected), the burden shifts to proving you haven't lost a step, that you haven't grown senile. I don't think Perez has met that bar recently with his Trumpian statements and some of his stubborn, poor decisions. Based on the reporting, he had to be heavily pressured to hire Xabi and modernize the club's approach, yet not only refused to back him after the Vini outburst and some player/player parents' complaints, and arguably refused to sign him a desperately needed midfield distributor or keep Modric (the latter for team chemistry if nothing else), he latched onto the first Xabi off-ramp possible and went back to a player-first, supplicative manager in Arbeloa, and is now going back to his comfort zone of re-hiring an old manager (though I am still hopeful Mourinho will work out, but I'm a biased fan of his).
Man I get that. We've been here for a long time so you know I'm not some idiot. But resting on our laurels and clutching desperately to the status quo in fear of change because it might bring something worse is a sure way to an eventual fall from grace. It might bring something better too. You need to be proactive and even a maverick to a degree. Something that Florentino used to be. But a closer examination indicates a leader in a serious decline. The entire Mbappe transfer saga and presence in the team, the amateurish manager appointments and philosophies, the Superliga debacle, the Vinicius BDO pettiness, the exhausting focus on Negreira etc etc. There is so much that went wrong. Of course, if you look at the Florentino era as a whole of course its overwhelmingly good, thats not the way to look at it if you want the best for the club. If you slice up the era to smaller periods, there is a very clear downward trend in the last years. I am as grateful to Florentino as anyone for what hes done in the last three decades, he truly launched Madrid in the 21st century. But almost a third of it has passed now, and he is not only stuck to his ways, but the negative traits are taking over. Im sorry but to live or die by the existence of Florentino is simply something that I don't abide by...
Yes sometimes everyone feels that Perez should go.. but I seriously think that in a hurry we should hand over the club to some amateur who is teaming up with a few anti-Madridistas, Whichever guy that want to contest against Perez has just published 9 directors and by looking at them I can only tell these are all yes master type servent nothing seriously professionals and some are connect with a corrupt earlier president and one with Ex madrid player who was forcefully thrown out of club Our intelligence should not become complacent with only idea of replacing someone in charges but should look at alternative , just look at barcelona who suffered immensely by issues with one ex president who did not had any longterm vision about club
I don't get what dreaming about this prince in shining armor that knows football, business, and has the financial and political connections to broker deals for the club is supposed to do for us. Florentino will again, win uncontested.
I watched the last video by the GlobalMadridista on youtube, and he pretty much feels like Riquelme is only running to preserve his legitimacy for future elections, knowing full well he has no chance to win right now. Both TheGlobalMadrista guy and his family (who are socios) will all vote for Florentino. I am absolutely certain Riquelme has no way of bringing Klopp, and that Klopp is just a rumour planted to give him some shine. He knows he wont have to come good on that rumoured promise. For somebody like him this is a perfect image building moment. He just has to avoid stepping on any landmines and he'll come out a winner, continue working on his image and possibly have a strong candidacy when Florentino eventually leaves. All the while having a guarantee that madridistas continue hearing about him and his talking points. The downside is that things could go sideways and Florentino and his camp totally character assasinate him and drag his name through mud. Though I can't see that happening as things stand right now. I think @4x4s is right in saying most socios are on board with Florentino and are backing him no matter what. I think people are calling Florentino out over the mistakes he's made over the past few years, but he's still seen as the guy whose name is synonymous with Real Madrid. He represents tradition, and I think he'll be around until he himself decides it's time to retire. I would argue he's earned it, for better or worse. That being said, I think Florentino knows the fires underneath are slowly reaching his feet, and if he doesn't want to be burned at the stake he has to make massive moves this summer. Securing Mourinho is a part of that equation which ensures the cameras are on Mou instead of him. We'll see how long that'll work for old Florentino. Hopefully some title is won in April/May next year.
Several boardrooms in european football clubs are loaded with business men and former/current diplomats. Without creating that kind of network, Riquelme is another Calderon, even if you have good intentions, you run out of money and public support pretty fast. Among the people sitting around around the Bayern head honchos against Real Madrid, was a transportation/carsharing business billionaire who recently entered the Bayern executive board, the current and former minister president of Bavaria (who is on the executive board) and so on. It's the fine details that matter. Football is completely political. Florentino plays that game to perfection, that's why he always has an advantage, and that's a bit of what gives Laporta an edge in Barcelona. His political connections support him through levers and any kind of help he needs.
🚨 Florentino Pérez unveils a huge banner with the 7 Champions won during his presidency.“A LOT OF HISTORY STILL TO BE MADE.”The location is the same one that Joan Laporta used in 2020 with the slogan: “Eager to see you all again.”@JorgeCalabres pic.twitter.com/GAp5ESvtx7— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) May 23, 2026
Flo is a lot if things. Having the humility to admit his mistakes is not one of them. But he still is the defacto safest bet.
Shows how you don't know jack. Florentinos first gig was a government job with the construction minister. That's where he built his fortune out of. Those are the connections he leveraged to get rich, and to get the club off the crushing debt it had. He sold it as clever accounting but he got favors from his old pals he came up with galore.
Wrong. You gain the connections by giving "gifts" and bribes. Perez is not different than any other business man at that level.
Going by the reports today, the three main aspects of Enrique Riquelme's candidacy: - Real Madrid to be more member controlled and "democratic". - Less foreign players and coaches, more Spanish talent and a squad that relies on it. - Immediate stop to the media campaigns and the referee/league struggle that has been initiate. No more "dirt".
Where's the problem? Are fans online the only ones allowed to beat their chest about Real Madrid's success and production?
Of course you cant become a president of Real Madrid as some rando with zero connections. You already have to be in elite circles. But the influence increases exponentially once you become the president. Thats what I meant.
The influence you allow others to have in exchange does so as well. It's a very much a balancing rope situation. Maybe he's been playing the hits so far, but it doesn't sound like what he's selling will do well with foreign fans.
🚨 Enrique Riquelme: "Real Madrid CANNOT allow itself to support a club like Barcelona, after doing what they did in the Negreira case. But the thing is, in 2024, Real Madrid were SUPPORTING Barcelona at the General Assembly, saying that Real Madird needs a strong Barcelona.… pic.twitter.com/TratSP937F— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) May 24, 2026