Florentino Pérez remains at the helm of Real Madrid after the club's most important elections in two decades
Florentino Pérez has been re-elected president of Real Madrid after elections held on June 7, 2026, at Ciudad Real Madrid in Valdebebas. According to results reported by the Spanish media outlets El País and Cadena SER, the long-serving president won around 65 percent of the votes of members who turned out for the election, while his opponent Enrique Riquelme received approximately 35 percent support. El País reported that Pérez received 21,741 votes and Riquelme 11,814, confirming that the current head of the club achieved a convincing lead despite a campaign that opened a series of questions about Real Madrid's governance. If he completes the full term, Pérez is expected to remain at the head of the club until 2030.
The elections drew particular attention because Real Madrid had real competition for the presidential post for the first time in two decades. The club's Electoral Commission had earlier officially accepted two candidacies, that of Florentino Pérez Rodríguez, club member number 1,484, and that of Enrique José Riquelme Vives, member number 41,736. This ended a long series of electoral processes in which Pérez remained in office without a serious opponent or without a vote involving multiple lists. According to the minutes of Real Madrid's Electoral Commission, polling stations were open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the basketball hall of the club's sports center.
Pérez's victory primarily means the continuation of continuity at a club which, across two presidential periods, he has managed for most of the 21st century. Real Madrid's official data state that he was first elected in July 2000, that he stepped down in 2006 and that he returned to the presidency in 2009. During that period, the club went through major sporting, infrastructural and commercial changes, from the era of the so-called galácticos to the modernization of the Santiago Bernabéu and the strengthening of its global recognition. The very question of the direction of those changes was one of the focal points of the campaign against Riquelme.
Members gave priority to continuity
According to Cadena SER's report, the polling stations in Valdebebas closed on Sunday evening, and the results became clear during the night of June 8, 2026. Pérez, according to the same source, won 65 percent of the votes, which was enough for a secure victory and for the continuation of a term in which he will be expected to clarify a series of sporting and financial decisions announced during the campaign. El País reported that after his victory Pérez emphasized that he had won in all age groups of members, which his side interprets as confirmation of broad support from different generations of the club's membership.
Riquelme's result, although insufficient to bring about a change at the top, was not politically insignificant in club terms. Around one third of the votes for the challenger shows that among part of the membership there is a need for a different model of governance or at least for a stronger debate about the club's future. His candidacy opened topics that in recent years had mostly been discussed outside electoral confrontations: the role of members in making strategic decisions, the limits of commercialization, the future of the ownership model and the way in which the president influences sporting decisions.
It is also important that the elections were held at a time when Real Madrid was once again surrounded by debate about the sporting project, financial sustainability and the status of members as the holders of club authority. In May, according to the club's official announcement, Pérez justified the decision to call elections with the claim that Real Madrid does not have one owner, but belongs to its members. That message was important because the campaign was largely conducted precisely around the question of whether the club can remain a member-run institution while at the same time competing with financially powerful clubs and investment models that dominate part of European football.
Riquelme's challenge changed the tone of the campaign
Enrique Riquelme entered the race as an entrepreneur from Alicante and a long-standing Real Madrid member, and international and Spanish media described him as a representative of a younger generation of candidates. According to the Electoral Commission minutes of May 24, 2026, his candidacy was submitted with the required documentation, the list of members of the candidate slate, the electoral program and the bank guarantee prescribed by the club's statutes. Two days later, the Electoral Commission declared both Pérez's and Riquelme's candidacies valid, thereby confirming that Real Madrid members would indeed choose between two options.
Riquelme built his campaign on a message of institutional renewal. According to reports by El País and Cadena SER, he criticized the possibility of changing the ownership or economic model, especially the idea of selling a minority stake of five percent to an external investor, which Pérez's side presented as a way of determining the club's real economic value. Riquelme described such a direction as a risk to Real Madrid's member-based identity. Although that message was not enough for victory, the election result shows that the issue of the ownership model entered the center of public debate among members.
The sporting part of the campaign was also strongly emphasized. Spanish media reported that Riquelme promised a different sporting structure, with a greater role for former players and sporting experts in decision-making. In that context, the media mentioned the names of Raúl González, Fernando Hierro, Iker Casillas and Vicente del Bosque as people who, in various forms, were linked to his project or publicly expressed distance from the current president. Part of Riquelme's announcements about major coaching and playing names, including Jürgen Klopp, Erling Haaland and Rodri, were followed by the Spanish media with the note that not all of them had been officially confirmed by the circles of the actors themselves.
Pérez enters a new term with open sporting questions
Pérez's campaign relied on experience, previous results and a message of stability. Real Madrid's official profile states that under his presidency the club has won dozens of trophies in football and basketball, including European titles, domestic championships and international trophies. The club biography particularly highlights the star transfers from his first phase, such as Luís Figo, Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham and Ronaldo, and the second phase marked by the arrivals of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Luka Modrić, Gareth Bale and Toni Kroos. These data are often used as the basis for the argument that Pérez knows how to combine sporting results, global marketing and club infrastructure.
Nevertheless, the new term will not simply be a continuation of the old model without pressure. According to Cadena SER's report, Pérez's side announced during the campaign the arrival of José Mourinho as coach and reinforcements in defense, including Ibrahima Konaté and Denzel Dumfries. Since final official club confirmations for such moves had not been published at the time of writing in the form of registered sporting decisions, these announcements should be viewed as part of the electoral campaign and as expectations that will now have to receive concrete confirmation or explanation. The relationship between campaign promises and actual moves will precisely be the first test of the new presidential term.
Real Madrid is a club in which the presidential function has a broader meaning than formal management. The president participates in determining the sporting direction, the economic model, the relationship with fans and members, and the strategy for developing the stadium and club assets. That is why Pérez's victory does not close the questions opened during the campaign, but transfers them to the next phase: decisions on sporting leadership, transfers, commercial development and possible changes in the way the club's assets are valued. For Riquelme and his supporters, the election result may be a foundation for a longer-term opposition within the membership.
The debate over postal votes did not change the outcome
One of the more sensitive parts of election day concerned votes received by post. Cadena SER reported that Riquelme's candidacy challenged around a thousand postal votes because of problems with a double stamp and that those votes were ultimately rejected. El País, on the other hand, stated that during the count Riquelme's team challenged 400 envelopes because of problems with stamps and expressed doubts about around another 600 votes. Both sources state that the disputed issues could not have changed the final outcome, because Pérez's lead was significantly larger than the number of challenged votes.
Real Madrid's Electoral Commission publicly responded several days before the vote to Riquelme's claims about access to the electoral roll and the security of postal votes. In an official announcement on June 2, 2026, the commission stated that the electoral roll had not been delivered to any candidacy and that communication with members was carried out through the prescribed procedure. The commission also emphasized that candidacies may appoint authorized representatives who will monitor the area in which postal votes are kept, alongside the existing security and video surveillance systems in the club's facilities. Such an institutional response shows how important the issue of trust in the electoral process was in the final stretch of the campaign.
Although the dispute over postal votes did not change the result, it remains relevant for future club processes. Real Madrid has a very large number of members, and voting rights are linked to age, length of membership and registration in the electoral roll. According to information published by Spanish media before the vote, adult members with at least one year of membership and registration in the census had the right to participate. In a club of such size and international visibility, the clarity of electoral rules and trust in their implementation will be especially important if decisions on strategic changes are opened in the coming years.
What the victory means for Real Madrid
Pérez's new term can be read as confirmation that the majority of members still give priority to a model that links a strong presidential figure, global commercial expansion and an ambitious sporting project. However, the result of around 35 percent for Riquelme shows that part of the membership is not satisfied merely with references to trophies and continuity. The campaign opened the question of how much members want to be involved in discussions about the long-term ownership and economic model, especially if ideas are considered that change the traditional perception of the club as an institution owned by its members.
For European football, the elections at Real Madrid have broader significance because this is one of the few largest clubs that still formally relies on a membership model. While numerous clubs in England, France, Italy and other leagues are tied to private owners, investment funds or state investment structures, Real Madrid remains a symbol of a different institutional tradition. Precisely for that reason, the debate over the possible entry of minority external capital, even on a limited scale, has a meaning that goes beyond mere financial technique. It opens the question of whether a member-run club can in the long term cope with a market in which revenues, stadiums, television rights and global sponsors increasingly determine sporting power.
The first days of the new term will show whether Pérez will immediately continue with the moves announced in the campaign or whether some decisions will be postponed until internal analyses are completed. Spanish media announce that sporting decisions, especially the issue of the coach and reinforcements, will very quickly come onto the agenda. At the same time, the topic of the ownership model and the role of members will probably not disappear, because Riquelme's result showed precisely that there is an organized minority current that wants a different direction. Real Madrid therefore enters a new presidential cycle with its old leadership confirmed, but also with a clearer picture of the internal questions that will mark the years until 2030.
Sources:
- Real Madrid C. F. – official announcement by Florentino Pérez on calling the elections and explaining the candidacy (link)
- Real Madrid C. F. – minutes of the Electoral Commission on accepting the candidacy of Enrique José Riquelme Vives (link)
- Real Madrid C. F. – minutes of the Electoral Commission on declaring valid candidacies and the voting schedule (link)
- Real Madrid C. F. – official statement by the Electoral Commission on the electoral roll and postal voting (link)
- Real Madrid C. F. – official profile of Florentino Pérez and overview of his presidential period (link)
- El País – report on the election results, number of votes and challenged postal envelopes (link)
- Cadena SER – report on Pérez's victory, election day, the campaign and the debate over postal votes (link)
- ESPN – report that Real Madrid is holding presidential elections with multiple candidates for the first time in 20 years (link)