Florentino stands up for Cristiano
Florentino Perez spoke to the media ahead of his fifth term as Real Madrid club president. He was elected without any electoral procedure as no candidate opposed his candidacy. This comes as no surprise as Perez has established a series of prohibitive conditions for those who would contemplate putting forward an opposition bid as few have the amount of money required irrespective of the 20 years as "socio" condition. The twenty years clause being recently imposed (it was previously only ten years) and I suspect introduced to eliminate a potential bid from Vicente Boluda who fails to meet this criteria. His board will be the same as previously with just one new face in that of Catalina Miñarro, a state lawyer with previous professional experience with Mapfre and ACS.
Fifth term
There was a triumphant air about the press conference and no-one can chastise Perez for this. Real Madrid have recently been hugely successful and he has nimbly overcome those obstacles that the position has thrown at him. He was quick to react when it was apparent that Rafa Benítez was not gelling with the team and his faith in Zidane has been astute. He's reemployed club icon Raul and has been gifted with the annual goal machine that is Cristiano Ronaldo. He does still have plenty of work to do in placating the club's "socios". Real Madrid is a members club, despite the fact that Florentino has orchestrated the club's statutes that none of them can oppose his presidency and woe betide anyone who attempts to do so.
Florentino defends Cristiano
No questions from the media were permitted with the most pressing subject being the ongoing situation involving Cristiano. We had to wait until later in the evening when the president was interviewed on the Onda Cero radio network where we heard his views on the striker. He was decisive on the issue. He stands by Cristiano, believes in him and will defend him. He was asked if Madrid would cover the fall-out from the player's case and he answered that Cristiano would not want that to happen. That's something I have my doubts on but it was clear that he offered his support to a Cristiano who finds himself in a predicament due to his advisers, the taxman and his own reaction to the situation. Only time will tell how this episode plays out.