Florentino Perez wins Real Madrid presidential contest to secure four more years at helm

[p]The 79-year-old Spanish construction magnate was ‌acclaimed as the winner by [i][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/real-madrid/W8mj7MDD/"]Real Madrid[/a] TV[/b][/i], while his rival, renewable energy tycoon Enrique Riquelme, conceded defeat a little ‌over one hour ahead of the official tally.[/p][p]Perez won 65% of the vote, the ‌club's official count showed, while Riquelme took 35% of a total of 33,555 members who voted at ‌Real's Valdebebas training ground on the outskirts of Madrid on Sunday.[/p][p][b]"I would like to ‌congratulate Florentino Perez's campaign on its victory. Real Madrid will not go another 20 years without an election,"[/b] Riquelme told reporters.[/p][p]Perez called the election on May 12 despite having two years left on his mandate, after a ‌second-straight season without silverware for the record 15-time European ⁠champions and with arch-rivals [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/barcelona/SKbpVP5K/"]Barcelona[/a] retaining their LaLiga ‌title.[/p][p]He declared the result "extraordinary" in a victory speech at a hotel in the Spanish capital and said ​Real had "set an example to the world of transparency and harmony".[/p][p][b]"This has been a great day for Real Madrid. We have won across the board, that is to ​say, across all age groups. And we have achieved the second-best result in the history of Real Madrid elections,"[/b] Perez said.[/p][embed guid="4fae5696-e565-444c-9828-75a8167541af" url="https://x.com/realmadriden/status/2063776520150409234" social-type="twitter" /][p]Perez first became Real president in 2000 and had renewed ⁠his mandate five times since 2009 ​by running unopposed. The club had not held a formal presidential vote since 2006, when Ramon Calderon won by a narrow margin.[/p][p]In the build-up to Sunday's vote, Perez promised to appoint [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/benfica/zBkyuyRI/"]Benfica[/a] manager Jose Mourinho and said he would spend 150 million euros on an unnamed player to be ‌revealed on Tuesday, a fee that would represent a club record.[/p][p]He also said defenders [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/konate-ibrahima/QJlbDbQe/"]Ibrahima Konate[/a] and Denzel Dumfries would be his first signings if elected.[/p][p]Benfica acknowledged Perez's interest in Mourinho in a statement to Portugal's CMVM market regulator, saying any move to appoint the Portuguese coach would require payment of 15 million euros to terminate his contract.[/p][p]Riquelme had tried to unseat Perez with pledges to sign [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-city/Wtn9Stg0/"]Manchester City[/a] pair [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/haaland-erling/UmV9iQmE/"]Erling Haaland[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rodri/K0G8DB00/"]Rodri[/a], while pitching himself as the candidate who would bring members closer to a club he said had drifted away from them.[/p][p]He promised to turn Valdebebas into a social hub featuring a hotel, swimming pools, a ‌gym and a 15,000-capacity arena for Real Madrid's basketball team that could also host concerts.[/p][p]His ​campaign also targeted Perez's proposal, raised last November, to create a subsidiary that would ‌allow outside investors to buy a stake of around 5% in the club. Riquelme said he "vehemently rejects" the plan and accused Perez of wanting to "privatise the club".[/p][p]Perez has said Real's member-owned model would remain intact and that membership would have "a real and tangible value". Any change to the club's statutes would require approval at an extraordinary general meeting.[/p][p]Real ⁠posted 2024-25 revenue of 1.19 billion euros and ⁠are valued by [i][b]Forbes[/b][/i] at $6.75 billion, ‌the highest in world football.[/p]