Real Madrid President Ramón Calderón highlighted Real Madrid's financial and sporting strength during the General Assembly that started today at 9:00 am. The Club's Premier also mentioned the institution's leadership amongst the most important clubs in the world.

After greeting the Voting Members, the President asked everyone to hold one minute of silence in memory of those who have deceased since the last Assembly. Following this, he summarised the work done last season and acknowledged the presence of the Club's veterans, saying they are "the pride and kickstarters of the admiration people have for us throughout the world."

Record champions
Calderón highlighted the first football team's success in winning the league title again last season by establishing a new record in points and by becoming the top-scoring and least-scored upon side in the championship. He also praised Castilla for their excellent campaign despite not managing to make it to the Second Division. Calderón also mentioned the eight championships and four second place positions achieved by the younger teams in the academy. Special mention was also made of the excellent progress of construction works for the the future Residence of Players at Valdebebas, which is yet another example this Board's special interest in the youth system. Finally, praise also went to the basketball team for being the regular season champions in the ACB League last year.

"We Madridistas are our fiercest critics," he added, "We have qualified to play in the Last-16 of the Champions League with one game to go in the present round. We are one of the top four teams on the league table with a hardly significant point distance from the leaders. All this is even more impressive when taking the large number of injuries sustained by the team into account. I would like to know how other teams would fare in such a situation..."

Institutional growth
Calderón listed a series of events that have "enhanced the Club's prestige," such as the close relationship the entity has with official institutions, which place the Club at the center of power in world football, partly by putting the President in charge of special commissions.

Foundation
The Club's Premier also mentioned the increasing importance of the Foundation's role. "We Madridistas should feel proud and satisfied with the job it does. We are greatly acknowledged thanks to their work. Thousands of unprivileged people in Spain and throughout the world benefit from its activities." 

Financial strength 
Ramón Calderón said it is very hard to find a company in such a favourable situation as the Club's, even amongst those least affected by the economic crisis. "Nobody can criticise Real Madrid's financial strength." He brought favourable reports by distinguished professors like Velarde and Ruiz Jarabo to the fore, as well as several articles published in several newspapers that confirm this. Calderón also mentioned the 400 plus million euro budget for the current season. "What's important is not to highlight the amount of money, but to point out our capacity of generating income, which says much about our responsible management."

Club media
The President also mentioned the growth of Real Madrid's own media, "which is a link between the Club and Madridistas throughout the world." He highlighted the increasing number of magazine issues, which total hundreds of thousands of copies. He also talked about the growth of Realmadrid.com, the greater quality of RealmadridTV and the birth of Realmadrid Radio, "which recently joined the other media and is yet another link between us and Madridistas."

"This report isn't a self-congratulatory document, but a summary of the work we've done and that we have to justify to the Assembly. All human work can be improved on and our goal is to help Real Madrid win more titles, have an even stronger financial system, and an even more recognisable brand throughout the world. We also want our fans and Club Members to benefit from more services. I hope we can achieve all this."