Florentino Pérez: "We are going to call elections, and I will run with this Board of Directors to defend the interests of the members.”

Florentino Pérez addressed the media in the press room of the Ciudad Real Madrid following the Board of Directors meeting. The president began his address by announcing the call for elections: “Thank you all for attending. I regret to tell you that I am not going to resign, but rather I have asked the Board to initiate the electoral process for the elections to the Board of Directors, in which this current Board of Directors will participate.”

“Why am I calling for elections? For a simple reason. Since the year 2000, I have worked to ensure that the owners of Real Madrid are its members, unlike what happens in other clubs. At Real Madrid, there is no single owner; it is the 100,000 members who belong to and form Real Madrid.”

Reasons for the decision
“I have made this decision because an absurd situation has been created by campaigns aimed at generating an opinion trend against the interests of Real Madrid and especially against me. They take advantage of the fact that we have had results that have not been the best, but that is something we accept because in sports, you don’t always win. This has happened to us many times before, but they take advantage of situations to attack me personally.”

“They say: 'Where is Florentino?' when I usually don’t speak. They say I’m sick and have terminal cancer. I want to assure those who are concerned about me that I continue to preside over Real Madrid and my company every single day. Let me remind you, I am also the president of a globally leading infrastructure company with 170,000 employees and an annual turnover of 50 billion. My health is perfect because I couldn’t manage both roles without being in perfect health. I don’t know where this rumor came from.”

“If they claim I have cancer, I would have to go to an oncology center and get checked. Do you think if that were the case, it wouldn’t have been reported worldwide? It’s not true. They’ve made it up and decided I’m tired. I work tirelessly. I wake up first and go to bed last.”

66 titles as president
“I share the frustration that this year we haven’t been able to win anything. I am the first to want to win everything. Let me remind you that under my presidency, we have won 66 titles in football and basketball: 37 in football and 29 in basketball, including 7 European Cups in football and 3 European Cups in basketball.”

Media campaigns
“I want to talk about all those I believe are behind this campaign and claim that some people are moving in the shadows to run for elections. Well, let them run. This is the opportunity I am giving them. I am going to call elections, and this Board of Directors will run, and I invite all those who wish to run to take the opportunity to do so. I will also run to defend the interests of Real Madrid members and not those of some journalists who think that by causing harm and creating confusion, they will intimidate me. On the contrary, they give me more strength.”

“There are sectors that want to control Real Madrid and haven’t succeeded because it is governed by its members and not by journalists, some of whom think they are very important. People believe me. Some journalists think they influence the club’s decisions. I ran in the year 2000, and I know this story well. It started with José María García and then others followed. Here at Real Madrid, the members are in charge as long as I am here. Let them not do strange things. Anyone who wants to run can do so. They have the opportunity to debate with me about what they want to do. But don’t go behind the scenes with journalists saying I look tired. If I look tired, it’s because I work a lot, not because I’m in bed.”

ABC
“If they say I have cancer, as the rumor goes, I would have to go to an oncology center and get checked. Do you think if that were the case, it wouldn’t have been reported worldwide? It’s not true. They’ve made it up and decided I’m tired. Let me share something I just received before coming here. ABC, a newspaper that loves me dearly, wrote: 'Before the Board of Directors meeting of Real Madrid, Florentino reportedly told a close circle that he was tired, raising alarms.' Thank you very much. I don’t know this person. How can this be said? His name is David Sánchez de Castro. Who have I spoken to? ABC constantly publishes such news. I work tirelessly. I wake up first and go to bed last. My father always read ABC and subscribed me to it many years ago. I wanted to honor my father, but now I’ve decided to cancel my subscription to ABC. My father will thank me. How can ABC do this?”

“I have to speak out because I cannot accept as president of Real Madrid that people in the media have taken over just because we didn’t win a League or a Champions this year. They’ve already forgotten that two years ago, I won a League and a Champions. Now they say Madrid is in ruin, in chaos, but we are the most prestigious club in the world, and everyone acknowledges that.”

Negreira Case
“Three years ago, we learned about a corruption case known as the Negreira Case. There are no precedents in the history of world football. It is the biggest scandal in history and a case that remains unresolved and ongoing. It is incomprehensible that we are still seeing referees from that era officiating in a competition like La Liga. It lasted two decades of payments. These are the same referees, and we are compiling an important dossier that we will immediately present to UEFA so they can address it at its root and resolve it for the good of world football.”

Disclaimer: Translation generated by artificial intelligence. It may contain inaccuracies.