Florentino Pérez doesn’t stop. The president of Real Madrid and candidate in the elections to be held next Sunday, June 7, spoke this Wednesday to a new media outlet, this time “El Español”, where he once again harshly criticized his rival, Enrique Riquelme, and where he set a date to announce the first signing he has already secured.
“We will have names before Sunday, don’t worry. People don’t doubt it, people know me. I have always generated excitement during the 23 years I have been president. Those who know me know that the best players will be at Real Madrid and that some Champions League title will come,” he says regarding the signings, stating that “on Thursday I will announce the first major signing”. In fact, as this newspaper has learned, the first two to arrive will be Konaté and Dumfries to strengthen the defense.
‘Agents are calling me telling me that Riquelme speaks with players and tells them: “Don’t say no”‘
On the coach, when asked directly about Mourinho, he limited himself to saying “I will announce it shortly,” and he weighed in on Enrique Riquelme‘s announcement on Sunday, when he stated that Raúl González would be his sporting director if he wins. “It seems fine to me, although I don’t know whether he has spoken with him. Agents are calling me telling me that Riquelme is speaking with players and telling them: “Don’t say no”. I don’t believe anything he says. One of the signings he mentioned was Rodri, but logically he does not have him secured,” he states.
Florentino, moreover, once again stressed what, in his view, are lies on Riquelme’s part, whom he says “I don’t know very well, although I do know his father, who was on Ramón Calderón’s team” and that he has “no doubt at all” that he would have signed the loan with CVC that LaLiga offered to professional football clubs. “Everything Riquelme says is like the television program ‘Everything is a Lie.’ He says he has come to save Real Madrid and has to ask for a loan at 54% interest for his company. That makes no sense,” he adds.
He says he is coming to save Real Madrid and has to ask for a loan at 54% interest for his company
The businessman again spoke of specific names and toughened his rhetoric against those who, in his view, want to destroy Real Madrid. “All the bad ones have come together here: Calderón’s people, Tebas’s people, the Federation’s people… Those from that sinister period want to take over Real Madrid again at all costs. They want to take over the club for their own personal benefit, something I have not done at any time in these 26 years,” he stated bluntly.
The members and the ownership model
With me, Real Madrid will always belong to its members.” This is how Florentino began his explanation of the ownership model he wants to put to a referendum within the white club: “What do I want to do? Forbes says Real Madrid is worth 10 billion, although I think more, and my proposal is that this wealth goes directly to the members.
He is clear about the method and the steps to follow. “We will study the form, debate it, and it will be put to a referendum by all the members. I want to move from the romanticism of being a Madrid member to making it something tangible and real. Moreover, it is also the way to protect the club in the future from cases such as the amendments to the Sports Law that Tebas tried to impose through a lobby called Acento on PSOE and PP lawmakers. They warned me and thanks to that I managed to prevent the Sports Law from taking the Real Madrid members’ assets away from them. If I had not found out, LaLiga would have achieved its objective,” he reflects.
If the other candidacy says that we are in debt, that we are the richest club in the world… Then how are the rest of the Spanish teams?
Following this, Florentino speaks about Riquelme’s accusations that the club is in debt and needs the money before June 30. “If the other candidacy says that we are in debt, that we are the richest club in the world, then how are the rest of the Spanish teams? It is a lie that an appraisal is needed because of the loan to renovate the stadium. The loan has an interest rate of less than 3% and 1 billion remains to be paid. The stadium is paid for annually with the income it is already generating,” he adds.
‘”Whoever messes with the Stadium is disrespecting Real Madrid, not me”‘
‘Finally, he stresses that concerts will return to the Bernabéu, that they will work “with the authorities to see what can be done” since “all the singers want to perform here, even the Pope wants to come,” before his final plea: “Whoever takes on the Stadium is disrespecting Real Madrid, not me“.’
‘The “Infinite Bernabéu” project’
About one of his major future projects, Florentino Pérez was unequivocal. It is “Infinite Bernabéu,” through which members will be able to enjoy an immersive experience in the stadium with glasses through television. “Anyone anywhere in the world can watch a match as if they were on the pitch,” he says.
Let Riquelme not worry, the price of Apple glasses will go down: it will be a global phenomenon
Responding to Riquelme, who criticized the project and insisted that Apple’s glasses are very expensive, Florentino says this: “He shouldn’t worry. This is going to be a global phenomenon and they will come down in price. Because right now we are facing the technological revolution in the world of football. In the 1940s it was stadiums, because they wanted a lot of people to come to the grounds. When I ran in 2000, the revolution was television and marketing, which is what we have lived through until now. And now it is technology”.
