For a team of Madrid's stature, the midfield is really bad. This midfield can't even control games against bottom opposition.
Two things about this. None of them has shown himself with him, none of them has spoken about what his part in the project is. When Calderon brought Mijatovic as his director, Pedja was with him on tv and spoke about what kind of players he would like to see, and in general explained his role. He hasn't even given a real job to any of those guys yet (said he'd give them a "high post with responsibility") , and I also have to say I'm kind of worried about Raul waking up one day and going from coach to director like it isn't an entirely different skillset. Iker said Del Bosque is a better option than Mourinho, a man that has retired from football an eternity ago. It really gives off a vibe of just getting people in that fans will recognize without any real purpose, and again, Raul has had a week to talk but he's been invisible. If Florentino would've introduced him to his campaign but would have hidden him under the sofa I would have said the same thing. It feels suspicious, or Raul hopes he can just dip his toe in the Riquelme project but then be allowed to get back to the waiting line with Florentino if Riquelme disappears.
Its normal, for the same reason Haaland is denying. You can't go all in for someone who has a very realistic chance of losing regardless. People seem to be unable to read between the lines though. To me its just shocking how little it matters to people that there is a sizeable opposition consisting of some of the biggest legends in club history. Raul and Casillas are probably the two greatest captains ever for this club. Sergio Ramos is a close one but hes not a Canterano. But if so many legends turn against Florentino and support the other guy at least their argument should be heard.
Raul and Casillas can be the best human beings ever, that doesn't mean they are capable directors or managers.
There will be a lot of pushback on Florentino's plan to sell RM stake if the final result ends up being this close. That referendum should be for all socios rather than just the 1000 odd representatives in the general assembly. 🚨 UPDATED Real Madrid election results, according to latest polls:- Florentino Pérez: 64,52%- Enrique Riquelme: 35,48%@marca pic.twitter.com/x0ApWJog7p— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) June 7, 2026
Considering how crazy and disadvantaged Riquelme has been this elections, a third of the votes is overarchieving imo.
You can also say that considering the Florentino is actually considering to sell the club, even a part of it, only getting this much is not good enough. Should have focused on what matters instead of doing circus tricks and gimmicks for the media. Florentino intends to forever change the structure of this club and this guy kept talking about Klopp and Haaland, free membership fees, whatever gets him on silly shows.
A better candidate who didn't contradict so much maybe could have caused an upset victory. Attacking Florentino on plans to sell RM stakes worked for Riquelme. Haaland, Klopp saga didn't.
You can definitely tell it upset Florentino every time he brought it up. Should have insisted on it a lot more.
Yeah, both Buonaparte and Sun Tzu wrote some iteration of, "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." And so, once Perez announced plans to start selling your club away, Riquelme should have focused on that issue, AND ONLY that issue. Because, that clearly was an unforced error by Perez, that was Riquelme's one and only opening to turn an election in which he was a massive underdog. Make it sound as scary as possible. Come up with memorable soundbites for the press. "Ni un porciento," or something like that. Riquelme really fvkced all of Spanish football, because watch what Laporta does, once Perez starts selling your club. Barca will be an oil club within a decade. And possibly, madrid as well.
Va por ti, @RealMadrid #MuchaHistoriaPorHacer… pic.twitter.com/ftrn1VTyqE— Florentino 2026 (@Florentino2026_) June 7, 2026
🚨 JUST IN: Enrique Riquelme tried until the end to CONVINCE Jurgen Klopp to RECORD A VIDEO where Klopp openly supports Riquelme.Riquelme was even ready to raise the offer from his own pocket. @La_SER pic.twitter.com/5KJPxstpIe— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) June 7, 2026
So he didn’t have anyone and lapped up false promises. Said it before, the people who voted for him was actually a slap to Perez to get his shit together and nothing else
Keep hoping Perez will get his shit together. Because we often see 80 year olds who have had absolute power for three decades get their shit together. He ran a textbook populist campaign, estimating the voters for what they are in terms of knowledge and interest, and drawing from winning examples, most notably Florentino himself. Maybe he should have put more emphasis on the privatization issue, but you simply can't create enough buzz and hype in an entertainment game that is football without promising signings. But honestly, going full on against privatization might be the biggest lie if he based the campaign on that. I'm not sure he would be able to resist it either, and quite frankly I'm not sure there is actually another way going forward regardless. I think its just the unfortunate reality and this is not something I am too angry at Florentino about. It might be inevitable in the current context. IMO Riquelme should have simply promised Raul as manager and Casillas as sporting director, and say that beyond Haaland and Rodri they will decide on squad building, but that they will oversee an overhaul and a new project together (Hierro included). Instead he got greedy with Klopp. Its a valid point that the legends didn't speak enough, and that was a major disappointment. I feel that was due to the Klopp gambit. There was definitely too much inconsistency with the roles. But I don't blame him for the Haaland move, I think there is definitely something there that Florentino hasn't managed to tap into. Personally if there was one issue he should have went with full force, it was that he would start a new project and clearing the deck. I have been a follower for a long time and I have seen the Bernabeu boo, but not nearly as much as in the last few months at Mbappe, Vinicius, Valverde, Huijsen and Florentino himself. Fans are not happy at all with this squad in general.
Look while I agree with a lot of your points, Raul, Hierro and Casillas should have no place at the club, they were propped up by nationalistic sentimentality and past appeal while having none of the credentials required to handle jobs of this magnitude. Riquelme did not have a concrete sporting project and his narrative was a mess. The message from Perez could not be clearer and not in a good way: no accountability, no new ideas and wild conspiracy talk; lean on past glories and coast on his tired "ganar la Shampions" obsession all while Barcelona assert domestic dominance and run circles around us in LaLiga. Meh, if they win a 3rd consecutive league title: "it was stolen", "Negreira", the same loser rhetoric. And nobody is better at selling that messaging than Mourinho. This club suffers from institutional nostalgia. Both Perez and Enrique demonstrated that.. Socios clearly want change, more than a third voted Riquelme despite all his flaws and hasty campaign. But Riquelme isn't it right now.
I like how much you focus on individual players and people when the elections proved the opposite. People care about the institutional wellbeing of the club, not whether Huijsen or Hugh Jackman plays in defense.
Full disagree. Riquelme sounded sane and a possible alternative, right up to the second he started promising Haaland and Klopp. Every political campaign is replete with lies. Like I say to democrats, win the election, FIRST, then you can govern, SECOND. A campaign is merely a popularity contest. Wait, the club that has the highest revenues in the game, WITHOUT selling pieces of itself off needs to privatize? Again, I disagree. Or he could have simply named Raul/Hierro/Casillas or whoever as his henchmen, and then go right back into making this a 1 issue campaign: "Now is not the time to think about signings, madridistas need to decide if they want 'real madrid' with me, or 'real saudi' with Perez." Or something akin to that. MAKE Perez answer to that 1 issue, don't play HIS game. Thats a fool's errand, to try to compete against the guy who signed Mbappe and Vini and all the Galacticos. That's Flo's strong point, and trying to compete against that is stupid. Sure: "We need a new project, and a new leadership group at real madrid. Not the old one, who wants to sell the club from under your noses." Again, when your enemy is making a mistake, do not interrupt him. And Riquelme handed the momentum back to Flo by playing Flo's Galactico game. Even a close loss could have made Perez think the better of selling, had Riquelme made it a 1 issue campaign. But, like a rich dumbass, he didn't. So, I guess we can look forward to 'real saudi.' Or 'real Qatar.' Or 'real red bull.'
Along with a new basketball stadium, a new football stadium for the women's team, a hotel resort and spa complex (free), a racetrack and all while cuttings prices and costs for members. Even a dressed up donkey would have received a fair share of votes given what's at stake.
Yes yes Real Madrid socios are Athens' agora citizens and their life revolves around the club's organizational and financial well being. Riquelme promising Haaland, Florentino promising Figo in 1999 and someone for 150 million in 2026, Calderon promising Robben Kaka Fabregas, Lorenzo Sanz promising Milan Baros, they all just have no clue what the fans are interested in. smh come off it
Guess which one of them went to prison and who lived up to his promise? Just because the funny name dropping got you here don't assume it's the same for everybody who else.