Article by Andrei Niculescu – Published Monday, 08 June 2026, 13:23 / Updated Monday, 08 June 2026 13:23
“He won, but… he didn't convince”. It's a very popular title in our country before 1990, but also immediately after, when the ellipsis also appeared, which at the time were also meant to be suspenseful. “He defeated, but he did not convince” is only a good title for these elections that took place on Sunday, for the head of the Real Madrid club. No points for… “suspense” this time, because if something was missing in this election, well, it was suspense. Because the result of the vote was so predictable, that no “Breaking news” was needed.
The result of the vote, yes, was predictable. But not the overall score. And hence the idea that the former and current president was not too convinced and, I think, is no longer so convinced himself of the usefulness of these elections. Which no one understood at first, because in 2025 Florentino had barely won a mandate until 2029, which many later attributed to power struggles in Florentino's entourage or, rather, to an attempt by him to change a status, a way of life of the club, let's say.
There is probably a bit of each, what is quite certain, however, is that from now on the “president” won, through the elections he won, an opposition. Which he didn't have until now.
It is the 8th term of Florentino Perez since 2000, but it is only the 3rd in which there was a vote. In fact, if we exclude what happened in 2000, when with Figo, and then in 2008, when there was a vote to replace Ramon Calderon (remember the character, the “jam” brother of Gigi Becali?!), brought down in 3 days by Florentino with the help of “Marca”, so if we exclude these two episodes, until Sunday evening the race for the seat of president of Madrid had only one runner Which, obviously, could not come in second place.
He didn't come this time either. The difference is that now there was also a second place. And from now on, there is an alternative. Asked by journalists, the newest member of every family on the planet, Chat GPT (you can put Gemini, Claude, Meta or anything else of Chinese origin, if you like more) gave a score of 75-77 percent in favor of Florentino. Artificial intelligence is also slipping, what to do with it.
Florentino had 65 percent, and his opponent, appearing somewhat out of nowhere and having absolutely no time for a coherent, sporting and image strategy, garnered 35 percent of the vote. Returning to the field of play, a difference in possession like this can mean a “goleada”, but it can also mean a match in which the favorite won hard, being surprised by the strategy and vigor of the opponent. “He won, but he didn't convince”, in other words.
The next election will be in 2030
At 37, Enrique Riquelme has already entered the race for the 2030 elections. He will then be 41. Florentino was, in 2000, when he won for the first time, 53 years old. In 2030 he will be 83 and it is hard to assume that he will enter the race again. Here, in fact, is the key to those internal disputes that I was talking about above and which many do not understand: the fight to appoint a successor has already begun.
Pretty much what's going on in America right now, if that makes it easier for you to understand. Between us, Florentino looked a bit like Trump in his speeches. Coming back to Riquelme, his fortune today is around a billion (Florentino's is 3 billion), which for a 37-year-old guy is remarkable, but also a bit… bizarre.
Florentino threw a few arrows in this direction, discreetly, accusing his opponent of being in fact the tool of politicians close to the prime minister in office and, here and there, in essential points, the tool of some services. This rhetoric is also known, don't you think, but Florentino didn't insist too much on it?
What did Florentino actually gain with this election? A little patience, we'll find out quickly if he didn't rather lose. Real Madrid, however, as an entity, won an alternative. Until Sunday, if he had felt like taking his white handkerchiefs out of his pocket and protesting at the “Bernabeu”, the Madrid fans would have faced, looking at Florentino, a question: “good, we are asking him to resign, but who are we putting in his place?”.
Already, since Sunday, there has been an answer and he is not convinced that the “president” likes it. Especially since Riquelme, beyond the somewhat baseless and election-related promises, gathered around him several names from the area of legends of this club: Casillas, Raul, Hierro, Del Bosque.
Madrilenians get-beget, not brought with tens of millions and tens of millions of salary. Dani Carvajal is next, probably. What do they all have in common? A treatment not worthy of their past that they received from Florentino.
With the election over, discussions about the future are rekindling. Jose Mourinho, whose release cost 15 million, will be presented as soon as possible. Konate and Dumfries have already been announced, and now the name of the one for whom Real Madrid will make an offer of 150 million is expected. The new “galactic”, as it were.
Speculations continued, there were also reactions from some clubs that felt targeted, PSG, City, Bayern. Anyone's for sale for the right price, that's what they say, right? Let's see!
