Real Madrid President Florentino Pérez faces his first real elections on Sunday, June 7, in 22 years: since he won his second elections in 2004, stepping down in 2006 and returning in 2009, he has never faced opposition. It is expected that he will win with vast majority of the votes from the members, bringing José Mourinho as new coach with him.
In an interview with El País, Pérez, 79, has revealed that one of the first things he will do if (or when) he is re-elected will be calling a referendum to officially give the club's members financial ownership of the club. "I'm going to give the economic ownership to the 100,000 members. Being a Real Madrid fan will no longer be just a sentimental thing, as it has been until now, but will also mean being a lifetime owner of the club."
However, in order to do that, Pérez says he needs to sell a small percentage of the club, 5%, to external investors, to really see how much the club is worth. "Who says the club is worth 10 billion? Forbes? That's not a valuation. A valuation is when someone buys a tiny part, 5%, simply to establish the value".
Pérez adds that the person or company that owns that 5% will really get "nothing in return" and wouldn't be in charge, they would only be associated with the brand. "It will be the 95% of the members who will continue to be in charge. I won't die until I've ensured that the club's financial assets belong to its members. It won't belong to some random person who happens to be there, who has no money, and who's capable of taking out a predatory loan to acquire Real Madrid", pointing to his electoral rival, Enrique Riquelme, describing him as "a syndicate of vested interests".
Real Madrid's elections will take place on Sunday, June 7, and all poll give Pérez and overwhelming majority of vote.