Spanish businessman Florentino Perez has won reelection as Real Madrid president after club elections that took place over the weekend. Perez, who was first elected in 2000 and has served as Real Madrid’s president ever since, apart from a three-year hiatus between 2006 and 2009, will remain in charge of the Spanish giants until 2030. Elections are normally held every four years, although a president can call early elections under certain circumstances, and the presidents are elected by the ‘socios,’ the club’s members and collective owners.
Perez won the electoral race against his only rival, Enrique Riquelme, and both claimed over the recent days different strategies for the summer transfer window and the next Real Madrid manager. Riquelme, who lost, announced he was ready to start talks with Jurgen Klopp as new coach and with Erling Haaland to become the next summer signing. Both manager and player have denied contacts and Manchester City have suggested they will take legal action against the former candidate over their player, Haaland.
What’s next for Real Madrid?
After the win, the next move will be to announce the new coach, which will be former club manager Jose Mourinho, who will return to the club as Perez announced. Mourinho, who coached Benfica in the past season, was also part of the campaign in favor of Perez in the past days and will be confirmed as the new Real Madrid coach in the coming hours.
Perez has also made clear, waiting for the official confirmation, that the first two signings of the summer will be former Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate as a free agent after the end of his contract with Liverpool and Inter winger Denzel Dumfries for $20 million, the value of the release clause that will be triggered. However, in one of the most recent interviews, he also suggested that the club will enter talks to “sign a world-class player” and will bid $171 million to sign him. According to multiple reports, the player will be Bayern Munich’s France star Michael Olise.
