Real Madrid is facing a presidential election fueled by the media in the past 2 weeks. One side is Florentino Perez, the greatest leader in club history but too old (79 years old). The other side is rising businessman Enrique Riquelme (37 years old) considered a breath of fresh air for Los Blancos to continue a successful era.
Since 2004, after reappearing at the Bernabeu with supreme power, this is the first time Florentino Perez has faced a presidential election with a competitor participating. In previous times, the owner of the "White House" was naturally re-elected because no competitor was capable of running.
If Perez is a famous businessman in the construction industry, Riquelme is a young bright star in the renewable energy industry. Last Wednesday evening, on the famous Spanish TV show El Hormiguero, Riquelme made eloquent statements to start his campaign. He hoped to attract 100,000 eligible voters. Almost at that time, Perez also launched the campaign with the first focus of the restructuring being the Jose Mourinho contract on the coaching bench.
This also clarifies one thing, although he has agreed with the current leadership, Mourinho has not officially 100% sat in the hot seat replacing Alvaro Arbeloa. If Perez's side's election campaign fails, the contract with the Portuguese strategist is at very high risk of not becoming a reality anymore.
The reason is that on television last week, Riquelme said he did not like coaches like Mourinho. This means that if Riquelme wins the election, he will not appoint the former captain of Los Blancos. Besides commenting on Mourinho, the 37-year-old billionaire also said he likes striker models like Erling Haaland very much, opening up the possibility of Real Madrid recruiting the Norwegian super striker if Riquelme wins the election.
Not only that, in an interview with Cadena Cope radio 3 days later, Riquelme also said that if he became president of Real Madrid, there would be a top-class Spanish player playing for Los Blancos, that is Rodri.
Not only clearly stating the goals regarding player transfers, the club's leadership team was also named by Riquelme, including famous players Raul Gonzalez (Sports Director) and Fernando Hierro (Head of the youth training academy).
It is no coincidence that after many years, a strong opponent has stepped into the Real Madrid presidential race to compete with Perez. Currently, Real Madrid is going through two consecutive seasons without a title and Perez's reputation is declining very rapidly. He has done too many great things for the club over the past decades, but at the age of 79 and showing signs of conservatism in many ways, Perez's appeal has gradually decreased in this race.
It is no coincidence that Riquelme has created such strong influence. The first reason is his young age, showing great energy and enthusiasm. Besides, Riquelme also mentioned Haaland and Rodri as strategic cards in his race for the throne.
Mbappe came under Perez's era, although still proving to be the world's top striker, in the past 2 years, he has not been able to realize his Champions League dream. Meanwhile, if only considering scoring goals, Haaland is not inferior to Mbappe. The Norwegian striker is also in the Top of the most expensive players on the planet at the moment, showing Riquelme's willingness to spend if he is elected.
There are even scenarios that if Haaland arrives at Bernabeu, he will play center forward and Mbappe will be returned to his preferred position on the left wing, creating conditions for Perez's "darling" Vinicius to leave the team. If this scenario takes place, 2 out of 3 players with equal value and the most expensive in the world at this time will be present in Real Madrid's squad. The other person, Lamine Yamal of Barcelona, is also valued at about 200 million Euros.
The other case is Rodri. This is the most recent Spanish player to win the Ballon d'Or (2024). In the era of Luis de la Fuente at La Roja, the trend of Spanish players under Real Madrid disappearing is becoming increasingly clear. In the squad of the reigning European champions, the only indispensable person in midfield is Rodri.
Understanding the sadness of Real Madrid fans when no players of the team are called up to the Spanish national team to play in the 2026 World Cup, Riquelme wants to bring Rodri in to soothe the fans. At Real Madrid, once fans are pleased, everything is very pleasant for the presidents and vice versa.
There are still other contracts preparing to arrive such as Denzel Dumfries and Ibrahima Konate, but that is not the end. Whether Riquelme or Perez is elected, there will definitely be more stars arriving at Bernabeu this summer to restructure the squad. If Perez continues to work, he will be forced to buy many stars to appease fans. And if power belongs to Riquelme, this will be the first step for him to show millions of Madridistas around the world that recent statements are not just empty words.
