- Members will need to approve any changes to the ownership model
- Real owned by members and have never let investors purchase shares in the club
- Perez believes club will “win the next battles” on European Super League
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has confirmed plans to change the Spanish soccer giants’ ownership model to allow external investment for the first time in the club’s 123-year history.
The LaLiga outfit has been considering options to change its ownership structure over the past 12 months, including potentially allowing investors to buy shares in the club.
Real are one of four LaLiga clubs owned by their members – or ‘socios’ – alongside Athletic Bilbao, Osasuna and fierce rivals Barcelona.
However, Perez said in November last year that he was considering holding a vote around changing the club’s ownership structure, but no further details have been made public since then.
The Athletic reported last month that Perez was set to present plans at Real’s general assembly on 23rd November, having been working with advisors at Key Capital Partners and law firm Clifford Chance on changes that would allow for external investment while retaining control for their members.
Now, Perez has revealed plans for a “minority shareholder” to enter the club alongside its current membership of over 98,000.
“During these months we have reflected deeply on how to make visible the value of Real Madrid and the conclusion is clear,” said Perez, as reported by The Athletic. “We will continue to be a members’ club, but we will make a subsidiary company in which the socios maintain control but with a minority shareholder with five per cent or so (of the shares).
“This way we can know what the club is worth. We do not want to float on the stock exchange. We will limit the share of investment so that the club remains in the hands of its socios. This investor or investors must share our values and help protect our assets against external attacks.
“Real Madrid will always have the right to take back the investment. Madrid must not depend on just some directors or one president, we do not want it to fall into the hands of anyone. This step will be decided freely by all members by referendum. At the EGM (extraordinary general assembly) we will be able to explain more, but I want to avoid all the things in the papers these days.”
Members will need to approve any changes to the ownership model and Pérez said that the EGM will give around 2,000 compromisario (representative) socios the opportunity to vote on whether the proposed change to the club’s ownership model should be put to a referendum of all socios aged 18 and over.
If the vote passes, Perez plans to form a new company in which Real’s existing members would be joined by a new private investor. Under the structure, each member would hold one share with a monetary value, transferable only to children and grandchildren. This would differ from most professional clubs in Spain, which operate as sports limited companies.
According to The Athletic, investors would get a ‘dividend’ or share of Real’s income but would not have any voting rights. Members would continue to be able to elect the club president and control any changes in the club statutes, but would not receive any dividends each year.
Real revealed that their revenue for the 2024/25 season reached €1.185 billion (US$1.366 billion) , which was an increase of ten per cent on the previous campaign. Even so, Perez is seeking new ways to generate revenue to ensure Los Blancos remain competitive with European soccer’s elite, particularly clubs in the Premier League, which benefits from more lucrative broadcast deals than LaLiga.
So far, Perez’s effort have included renovating Real’s Santiago Bernabeu in an effort to bring in more income from their home stadium.
Perez also said during the general assembly that changes to Real’s ownership model would help protect club members from what he called “clandestine” lobbying from LaLiga president Javier Tebas to change Spain’s laws so the Spanish top flight could receive a greater share of Real’s annual revenues.
Real have already resisted being part of LaLiga’s deal with private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, which invested €2 billion (US$2.3 billion) in the league in return for a 8.25 per cent share in the league’s commercial revenues for the next 50 years.
Perez was also one of the architects of the failed European Super League and insisted during the general assembly that Real would “win the next battles” on the project.
The club said last month that it would seek ‘substantial damages’ from Uefa following a ruling linked to their efforts to form the European Super League.
According to documents seen by the Financial Times (FT), Real believe they have missed out on revenues of between €4.5 billion (US$5.2 billion) and €4.7 billion (US$5.4 billion) as a result of the failed launch of the competition, which factors in lost matchday, broadcast and commercial income.
The newspaper also reported that the club is now planning to file a claim for damages of more than €4 billion (US$4.6 billion).
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