Florentino Pérez, who has been Real Madrid president for 23 years, starting in 2000 and uninterrupted since 2009, will have a rival in the election for the first time in 20 years, Enrique Riquelme, a young businessman who promised signing Erling Haaland and Rodri in his sporting project if he is elected (even if Manchester City denied that Haaland has an exit clause and threatened to take legal actions).
Riquelme's play (promising to pay the membership to all 100,000 Real Madrid members if he is elected president and the players don't come) was responded by his rival Florentino Pérez, announcing his first three signings (coach José Mourinho and defenders Ibrahima Konaté and Denzel Dumfries) and also using a primetime TV show in Spain to announce his plan: he intends to have the most expensive transfer in club's history this summer.
Pérez did not announce which player they want to bring to Real Madrid, but he did say he is not from the Premier League and he is willing to pay 150m euros for a new "galáctico". "But first we'll talk to the club, we won't do what this guy did."
Who could be that mysterious Real Madrid signing?
Pérez did not want to disclose the name of the player, but rumours say there are three candidates: two from Paris Saint-Germain, Vitinha or João Neves, and one from Bayern Munich, Michael Olise.
Vitinha and Neves are midfielders, the position the club needs to reinforce, and both come from winning two Champions Leagues with PSG. Vitinha, 26 years old, is considered one of the best of his team, while Neves, 21, is considered one of the best young players. Meanwhile, Olise, English international at 24 years old, is less likely: the club doesn't need more forwards, and Pérez himself denied it was Olise, but according to AS he would be one of the targets...
If Real Madrid manages to buy one of those players for 150 million euros, it would make him the most expensive player the club has ever bought, ahead of Jude Bellingham, bought by €127m in 2023, and Eden Hazard, bought by €120.8m in 2019.