Florentino Perez Calls Elections Amidst Real Madrid Crisis

Florentino Perez rarely steps into the firing line. When he does, it usually means Real Madrid are at a crossroads.

After a season many around the club have branded a “historic disaster” – no major trophies, coaches churned, a fractured dressing room – the president has moved first. He has called elections.

In a charged appearance before the media, Perez confirmed he has formally asked the electoral board to trigger the process for a leadership vote at Real Madrid, with his current board standing again.

“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 said. “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.”

This was not a farewell speech. It was a declaration of intent.

Silence on the bench, noise in the boardroom

The fanbase wanted clarity on the dugout. After the tenures of Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa, attention has already shifted to the next man on the touchline. The name of José Mourinho inevitably surfaced.

Perez shut that door, at least in public.

“Regarding Mourinho's arrival, we're not at that procedural stage yet; we're focused on ensuring that Real Madrid belongs to its members,” he insisted. “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.”

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 clear: the future of the presidency comes before the future of the bench. For now.

A president under siege

If this season has exposed Madrid on the pitch, Perez believes the real battle lies off it. He used the platform to launch a fierce defence of his record and to accuse sections of the media of trying to destabilise the club and force him out.

“They're being taken away from them, from what I see every day, by some journalists who want me to leave,” he said, casting himself as the last line of defence between Real Madrid and “outside interests.”

“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.”

Then, a reminder of his own mythology.

“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, unapologetic, utterly convinced of his mandate.

“Let them run”

On paper, there is no obvious challenger. Perez knows it, but he leaned into the idea that anyone who questions him should step out of the shadows and onto the ballot.

“I'm calling for elections this year so there will be candidates,” he said. “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.”

Anonymous critics, radio voices, whispering campaigns – all invited to become opponents in the open. The president framed the election as a test of courage as much as a test of ideas.

He finished with a line that leaves no doubt about his intentions.

“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 may have ended in disappointment, but Perez has thrown down a different kind of gauntlet. The trophies are gone, the questions over the next coach remain, yet the battle he cares about most now moves to the ballot box – and he has no intention of walking away from it.