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Real Madrid in turmoil

There is to be an election for the presidency of Real Madrid.  Florentino Pérez, a 79 year old construction magnate and president for the last 25 years could well hang on, but his authority is ebbing away.

The club has 100,000 members who pay €179 a year, although a season ticket costs an extra €3,200 on top.  Some members sell their tickets on.

Real Madrid has not won a grand trophy for two years.  An expansion of the Bernebau budgeted at €575m has cost €1.3 billion and counting.  The Spanish squad for the World Cup does not include a single Real Madrid player.

Pérez called his first press conference for ten years and gave a rambling and paranoid performance, blaming referees and the press among others.

His opponent is Enrique Riquelme, 37, who owns an energy business.  The first presidential election in 20 years has been called for June 7th.  Meanwhile, the appointment of the 'special one' as manager has been delayed.

Pérez is favourite to win, but that there has been a challenge is significant.

Riquelme told The New York Times: 'Right now, Real Madrid is losing around €80million a year, and that shortfall is being offset through extraordinary revenue streams such as the sale of VIP seating. One-off sales, exceptional transactions — every season there is something. We criticise Barcelona for using “financial levers,” but these are also levers.

Of course, the situations are different, and Real Madrid is in a far stronger position than Barcelona, without question, but there is still a risk. If Real Madrid stops reaching the Champions League quarter-finals every season, the financial impact becomes much more serious.'

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