"Now it's time for a moment of reflection and getting to work." In the corridors of NH Eurobuilding, a few meters from the Santiago Bernabéu, Florentino Pérez and his closest circle celebrated until two in the morning the victory in the Real Madrid elections. A triumph they considered "decisive," but also admitted, in the early moments of analysis, that they expected to get even more votes, especially to approach optimistically the referendum for the societary change. The 35% support achieved by Enrique Riquelme not only showed the positive opinion that some members had of the young candidate but also the rejection of some proposals and results of the president in recent times. Including the idea of creating a subsidiary to transfer the football business to and from which he would sell a minimal part.
Florentino stated during the campaign that "right after the elections, I want to call a meeting of delegates and hold a referendum." This statement puts as his first task the convening of said meeting to explain the project that he already introduced in the Extraordinary meeting of November 2024. "We will bring a proposal for the societary reorganization of the club that, clearly, ensures our future, protects us from the threats we face, and, above all, guarantees that the members are true owners of our club, real owners of our economic heritage and full rights," he stated that day.
Almost two years later, Pérez maintains the same discourse but still has no date for the realization of said referendum. When he announced the election call, he hoped that the ballot boxes would give him enough weight to calmly call the members to the next vote, but the numbers put at risk a possible "yes" to the major change he proposes.
Article 58 of Real Madrid's statutes states that "the transformation, merger, or extinction of the club will only proceed when agreed upon by an absolute majority of members with voting rightsin a referendum convened for this purpose by the extraordinary general assembly." The electoral roll for these elections was 75,208, so to achieve the "yes," Florentino would need more than 37,605 members to vote in favor in the aforementioned referendum.
These figures are what guide the analysis of these elections within Pérez's Board of Directors, which has had the support of 21,741 members in these elections. Calling on the fans to vote will be crucial because Florentino needs a much higher turnout to increase the number of supporters, even though this time around, nearly 40% was reached in historic elections. Hence his first words at the Eurobuilding after confirming his victory: "I want to address those who did not vote for me. I will listen to all their explanations and indications. We have a great sensitivity to hear their problems. We are going to be much closer to our members," he stated, in a message of crucial importance for his medium-term future.
The second institutional front that Real Madrid will activate after the elections is related to the Negreira Case, another of the most repeated names by Florentino during the campaign. Pérez, who changed his tone against Barça after the Catalan club's exit from the Super League project, will send a dossier to UEFA in the coming days to serve as a basis for punishing Barcelona for its involvement in the payment to the referees' vice president. A document that will reach the continental body's office just as Florentino has improved his relationship with Aleksander Ceferin, with whom he met during the Champions League final weekend. The agreement not to proceed with legal action over the Super League has also pushed Real Madrid to prepare this dossier of over 500 pages, whose main mission is to impose an "exemplary" sanction on the Blaugrana club.
"We will hold concerts," Florentino also stated during the campaign. The president is confident that the City Council and the Community will also push for the return of musical events to the Bernabéu once the legal battles are over. This, along with the opening of the famous SkyBar, the 700-square-meter restaurant, once the issues caused by the initial company in charge of its operation are resolved, should change the day-to-day at the stadium.
In the sports field, the campaign has served to solidify ideas. Mourinho, Konaté, and Dumfries are signed, and today, Tuesday, the first move by Florentino for the promised galactic player is expected. Bayern refuses to sell Olise, and PSG does not seem willing to negotiate for Vitinha or Joao Neves, so the Madrid leadership is working on how to spend the 150 million they claimed to have available for an offer and is also studying how to remodel the midfield.
A lot of work for Florentino on the field and in the boardroom.