Article by Andrei Niculescu – Published Wednesday, May 13, 2026, 6:39 p.m. / Updated Wednesday, May 13, 2026, 6:39 p.m.
Silence has been Florentino Perez's main ally over the years. The president of Real Madrid has not given any press conference in the last 10 years, he spoke extremely rarely in front of TV cameras or radio stations, and when he did, he did so only after making sure that there would be no hostility towards him.
And against his mantle of “Ser Superior”, with which he wrapped himself from the second “dismounted” at the head of the most important club in world football. He knew how to use this silence in his favor, turning it into a kind of mysterious, almost mystical aura, of a man who can do anything, for whom the word impossible does not exist and who, if he sets his mind to something, the chances of success are more than 90 percent.
Florentino Perez was the president who changed the face of the Real Madrid club, transforming it from a company that could barely pay its employees at the end of the 90s, although it won the Champions League twice in 3 years, into a global, strong, respected, envied brand.
He was arguably the president who changed football in general, with Real Madrid's model subsequently being copied by all the other top tier groups, including those, see Bayern, who never acknowledged it. He used his business style to grow Real Madrid and he used Real Madrid to grow his turnover and by implication his personal wealth, at least 10 times higher today than in 2000 when he first took over.
Florentino Perez decided on Tuesday evening to come in front of the journalists, triggering all sorts of rumors in the hours leading up to the extraordinary press conference. There was even talk of resignation, the year 2006 was cited as an example in this sense, when, also at such a conference called unexpectedly, he announced that he was resigning. One of the reasons at the time was: “I taught the players badly and it's my responsibility”. It was the Madrid of the “galacticos”, which did not win anything even though the dressing room was full of Ballon d'Or. In a way, the feeling on Tuesday was that things today are similar.
An hour or so of delirium ensued, in which, to quote a reputable Spanish journalist, all present and many of the dismayed onlookers found that “the king is empty” in the “Santiago Bernabeu” palace. And the problem is not necessarily that the king is empty, but that no one has the courage to tell him. All the balance with which he had taught the “blanco” fans melted into a downright medical demonstration, in no case of force, as he had intended.
Florentino Perez, president of Real Madrid // PHOTO: Imago Images
Not the slightest acceptance of responsibility for a series of decisions that turned a club of Real Madrid's caliber into a perpetual source of caricatures, not the slightest hint of a “mea culpa”.
Far from the figure of the head of a club that he led to 7 Champions League trophies and, above all, to a budget well over a billion euros, Florentino offered the image of a disoriented, less coherent, manic-depressive, looking for enemies where there are, but especially where there are none. Specifically in the press, despite a more than obvious preferential and gentle treatment he received from the newspapers and television stations in Madrid, which he boasted all these years that he controlled.
He said he's not sick, which is very good. He also said that he feels strong, which again is very good. And he also said that he will have to be kicked out of his office as president by rivals he did not name, but who may exist, because otherwise it is difficult to explain such an exit. He spoke for 15 minutes about a newspaper, “ABC”, because a journalist there wrote, according to sources, that the “president” had confessed to those close to him that “he is tired”. As if it were something abnormal for a man who will soon be 80 years old to be tired and, at least a little, overwhelmed by the situation. In a way, he wanted to show that Real Madrid is him, although the statute says that he belongs to tens of thousands of “partners”.
Culmea, from ACS, the company he transformed into a world-class colossus, retired, leaving the place to a younger disciple, from Real Madrid does not want to retire. He even said that he will call elections, although he was re-elected in January last year, with a mandate until 2029. So that he can show those targeting his place who is stronger.
That's because it can. And because he has changed the status of the club several times, forcing any potential contender to think twice and then give up. That 15 percent of the budget, which whoever wants to run for the elections, must submit and block it represents a huge handicap, because it is almost 200 million euros. Or at least it represented until now, because it is very possible that after this anti-show of force, some kind of mobilization in this sense will appear. And some signs have already appeared, with Rafa Nadal brought forward and another colossus, “Iberdrola”, in the shadows.
However, we did not find out on Tuesday evening who the new coach will be. And neither who is to blame between Tchouameni and Fede Valverde. I found out instead that there have been fights in the Madrid dressing room. And I also learned that Florentino Perez is not tired. Honestly, I don't know if it's good.
