Enrique Riquelme, candidate for the Real Madrid presidency, has announced on Wednesday his electoral programme to face Florentino Pérez, who has been president since 2000 (except for a brief year gap between 2006 and 2009, when he resigned after bad sporting results). Since 2009, he has won every election by default, as there were no other candidates, so these will be the first elections since Ramón Calderón beat Juan Palacios in 2009.
Riquelme, a 37-year-old businessman owner of the renewable energy company Cox Energy Group, has put big emphasis on the members, between rumours that Pérez is working to sell part of the club to private investments. Since its foundation 124 years ago, it has always been owned by the members.
Riquelme bases his electoral program on benefits to members, including opening 10,000 new tickets, reducing the waiting list and giving them a special quota for family members who are not yet members but also want to attend the matches. He even plans to create 'Member Advocate,' an independent figure separate from the club.
Notably, he also promises to reduce the quota by 50% until the team wins Champions League again. "These are problems that Madridistas will probably not care, but the members will do", Riquelme said in his press conference, who also looked at that the Supporters' Clubs ('peñas') promising the creation of a new day for the supporters' clubs.
His most tangible promises have been the construction of a dedicated arena for Real Madrid Basketball, expansion of the Alfredo di Estéfano stadium to boost the women's team, and even a "Members City", an expansion of the Valdebebas sporting city training complex with the creation of a social club for members, a hotel, an aquatic centre, padel courts, football pitches...
The elections for the Real Madrid presidency will take place place on June 7.