Florentino Pérez announces Real Madrid presidential election and hits out at media and Negreira case

More from Florentino Pérez on AS USA

Florentino has long gone and journalists are being kicked off of the Real Madrid media room. We'll leave it there for now, but be sure to stay across AS USA for more on Pérez's words in the coming hours and days. 

Thanks for tuning in!

Florentino drifts off into the night

And that's it from Florentino Pérez, who announced a new Real Madrid presidential election. I'm going to suggest he didn't really speak about the topics we were all hoping he might, apart from the Tchouaméni-Valverde fight, briefly, and maybe the Negreira scandal. 

Yet it was hugely entertaining, mainly because of the fact he was fuming throughout. I'll put up a little summary of what was covered in a moment.

Florentino Pérez signs off: "Our enemies are identified"

"Well, thank you very much. If they keep going after us, I'll come here and say what I think in the best possible way, but to defend the members. I don’t mind doing this again sometime, and maybe this exchange is necessary. The enemies of Madrid in the media are identified. I'm not going to leave until the members want me to go."

Florentino's final blast at journalists

"I don't want to tell you what they used to do and ask of Real Madrid players. Journalists think they have a lot of power. They have no power at all because people are very smart. They’ll have to throw me out at gunpoint because I have the support of all Real Madrid members.

“What will the other clubs say? What’s going on with Atlético Madrid? Why don’t they go after Atlético? There is no club in history like Madrid. Do they want us to win 10-0 every day? We’re going to achieve it, don’t worry.”

"Like booing our own children"

“If Real Madrid plays badly, people can boo as much as they want. But there is a movement encouraging people who are angry because the team plays badly to boo. If they are our players, it's like booing our own children. They are being influenced by the ultras, by this 'amber movement,’ who are heating up Thursday’s match, saying things like ‘Florentino resign.’ Let them come to these elections and face me, they have never faced me. I do what is best for Madrid, I have to defend Madrid, as my father taught me when I was little.”

Will Real Madrid fans boo the team against Real Oviedo?

There has been lots of chat about the possibility of Real Madrid fans booing them team in Thursday's game against Oviedo, following dressing-room bust-ups, poor results and losing the LaLiga title race with three games still to play. 

Will that actually happen after Florentino's comments? 

Florentino criticism for Real Madrid members

Even Real Madrid members are not immune to criticism from the president today. 

“The self-criticism I make toward the members is significant. Real Madrid members should not criticize their players or boo them. They have to support them. There are also bad elements inside, which we have identified since we removed the Ultras Sur. It saddens me that they boo a player for one bad play. They are there to help them. But what is this, the Roman circus or what?”

Florentino on what Real Madrid members fear the most

"If they lose ownership of the club. If five journalists get together and agree to say that this is chaos and I don't come out to defend it. I don’t want money from Madrid, nor interest nor prominence. I live a discreet life. I already know it’s little what I’ve defended: 66 titles… I’ll try to improve it."

More form Florentino on the Negreira scandal: "I've won seven league titles, but it could have been 14"

“We've come up empty-handed, and I’ve been here for I don’t know how many seasons, and I’ve only won seven European Cups and seven league titles, which could have been 14 because they’ve been stolen from me. We’ve made a video of the 18 points that have been taken away from us this season.”

Real Madrid "going all the way to the end" against Barcelona and Negreira

And we're back to Negreira again. Expect some big developments on this soon, going by what Pérez has been saying. 

“We couldn't have imagined that the head of the referees was receiving money from Barcelona for two decades. That issue came out late. Since then, we’ve been compiling a dossier and we’re going to go all the way to the end with it. It is the biggest corruption case in the history of football. For the good of football, nobody in the world even considers paying referees. It is inconceivable.”

Valverde and Tchouaméni "fantastic young guys"

“The press has to analyze what it is, but they shouldn't say that because two players get into a fight there is chaos at Madrid. They fight every year, well, they fight every day. And it ends there. If someone inside the club takes it outside, that is worse than the scuffle between them. They are two fantastic young guys, by the way, and very good players. That was horrible, that would destroy Madrid, it can’t be tolerated… Well, I’ve tolerated it for 20-odd years and nothing has happened.”

When will the Real Madrid elections be?

"Don't you read the newspapers every day? This is an orchestration by bad journalists against Madrid. In 10 days or 15 days or whatever it is, we will call a press conference."

“The news is horrible, unfair. They’ve even brought out a newspaper! Relevo, which lost 25 million euros. They wanted to go after Madrid and all they’ve done is lose money.”

Pérez bites on Valverde-Tchouaméni fight: "The leak is worse, we know who it was"

"I think it's very bad, and I think it's even worse that it was made public. I’ve been here 26 years and in every single year there have been two players who have had a fight… or four. But I think it’s very bad that it comes out of the locker room. Players have fought in every year I’ve been here. It’s what happens with young players, you kick each other, the other one kicks back, and then they’re friends again.

"For me, the leak is worse, because it suggests there is something more than just a fight and that the next day they are friends again and go have a coffee. I think it’s the first time I’ve seen this in my 26 years, and that also worries me.

"I, in one year, fired three coaches, that is not the first time that has happened. And it is not the first time that two players have fought, players fight every season because they get competitive. What is happening here is that someone has leaked this for the first time, and we know who it was."

On the absence of candidates in previous elections

Florentino is asked whether there will be an actual election, or he will run unopposed, as has happened several times before. He also finds a way to take aim at another individual "that man who talks to the electricity companies and who has a South American accent, let him run. Mexican accent). 

"I will call them this year so that there are candidates. That man who talks to the electricity companies and who has a South American accent, let him run. Mexican accent. They say we are very bad, that we are a dictatorship. Let this man we are talking about run, and anyone else who wants to. I am the president and I don't usually speak. Just like I do in my company. I’m not someone who wants to be in the spotlight. Because I’m going to be out of the picture. The protagonists are the players."

A sporting analysis at Real Madrid?

“No, no. When we win the elections, soon, I'll do that. This intervention is to complain about what is happening with the press and Real Madrid.”

"Barcelona always comes out favored": Florentino returns to Negreira scandal

"The Madrid members are with me in my war against Negreira and others. It's not always Real Madrid that gets harmed, it’s other teams. Barça always comes out favored. We’ll see if UEFA steps in on this issue, and it will step in. It can’t be that there is suspicion of corruption paid for over 20 years. We’ll see what happens in criminal terms and in sporting terms with UEFA. And we’ll see what happens. I did not come here so that referees would get rich off Barcelona’s money."

José Mourinho talk off-limits: "Not a day to talk about football"

"I didn't expect to be asked about that," Pérez said, sarcastically. “We are not at that stage of the process. Right now, we are focused on ensuring that Real Madrid belongs to its members, who some people are trying to take it away from.”

“I want to discuss this with them and for them to come forward. I’m going to ask them what they have done in their lives for Real Madrid. I need to put an end to the absurd campaign that exists against the club.”

“There has never been a more glorious Real Madrid in history. I’ve been voted the best president in the club’s history and, supposedly, in the history of all clubs, which honestly embarrasses me to even say out loud. Today is not a day to talk about football.”

Real Madrid

Real Madrid election rules revealed after Florentino Pérez announcement: the $215 million hurdle

Florentino has repeated on a number of occasions that other candidates are more than welcome to run for Real Madrid president. He knows the odds are stacked in his favor to keep his current role. 

"Below is a detailed breakdown of the requirements a club member must meet in order to run for the Real Madrid presidency. Beyond the requirement of 20 years as a member, the main obstacle is the financial guarantee.

"Madrid's current budget is well over €1 billion ($1.47 billion), specifically €1.28 billion ($1.47 billion). Candidates must personally guarantee 15% of that figure. Fifteen percent amounts to €187 million ($215 million). In addition, once elections are officially called, candidates have only 10 days to submit their candidacies.

"In other words: €187 million ($215 million). That is the amount the president and board members must guarantee in order to run in the Real Madrid elections. The requirement applies collectively to the entire board, not just the presidential candidate.

"They must not only possess that wealth but also put it at risk because, according to the bylaws, the guarantee becomes effective immediately once the board is elected. Before the bylaw changes introduced several years ago, the guarantee could be formalized later.

"Any bank would obviously be willing to guarantee Real Madrid itself. In this case, however, the guarantee is tied directly to the president and board members personally. The cost of securing a guarantee of that size, while variable, is estimated at around €2 million ($2.3 million).

"Everything related to presidential elections is covered under Article 40 of the club’s bylaws, effectively the club’s constitution.

Read Marco and David's full explanation here. 

Q&A session

Florentino is now taking questions from the media, although he makes it clear he only wants to talk about elections. 

Florentino: "Do I look tired?"

ABC is really getting it with both barrels. Pérez goes back to the well. 

“No one should expect me to sit back with my arms crossed, or that I'm tired, according to ABC. ABC is a Madrid newspaper and Madrid is the biggest club in the world. I mention ABC because I’m heated about this, but I could say the same about others.” 

“I run a very important company in the world, which has a turnover of 50 billion and 170,000 employees. Why is ABC doing this? Do I look tired here? From tomorrow on, I’m going to start fighting with all the members so they don’t take ownership away from us. Where does it come from that I have cancer? And I didn’t even know about it…

"If they want me to leave, I will leave when someone comes along and wins the elections, like now. If someone beats me in the election, then so be it. Ownership belongs to the members, not to a handful of journalists who I assume are Atlético Madrid fans.”

No player or manager talk

If you hoped we might get an update on a new head coach or players for next season, forget it. 

“I'm not going to talk about managers or players.”

Come on, Florentino, humor us just a little. 

Pérez confirms he's running in Real Madrid elections

"I am running in the elections because there are sectors that have tried to take control of the club and claim that Real Madrid is a mess.

He then goes off on a tangent, bringing up Real Madrid ultras who have been banned form the stadium, which he has been congratulated for. 

“Then there are the ultras, whom we expelled, and I am congratulated all over the world for having done so, and they will never come back. There are also the ticket resellers, whom I have to remove. This year we have already removed 1,600 of them.”

"I'll be the last of the Real Madrid members to leave"

Pérez is speaking at a million miles an hour. But what is crystal clear is that he firmly believes there's an anti-Madrid agenda in the press. 

"I don't understand the Spanish press. They have abused this idea of 'let’s see if he leaves.’ I am not going to leave. I will be the last of the members to leave. The owners of Madrid are the members.

"If someone wants to come and run in an election, they should not hesitate, they should stand and say how they will finance it. They should not ask banks whether the president of an electric company can guarantee the bid. I personally guaranteed 174 million pesetas in 2000 so that salaries could be paid. The players weren’t being paid. I had to put that money up from my own assets, and today Real Madrid is in a very healthy financial position.

"Some say the stadium started at 600 million and ended up at 1.3 billion, and that is not true. The 600 million was for the initial contract for the roof. After that, we built the underground pitch system and the stadium’s interior design. I want to put an end to this anti-Real Madrid narrative that has taken hold in the press. I am calling elections to defend the members.

"Some, from a journalistic point of view and others from different interests, want to take control of Real Madrid. I have been here for 26 years and I am not going to allow it."

Florentino Perez's argument with ABC journalist

Here's more on Florentino's argument with the ABC journalist, Rúben Cañizares, which was quite a surreal moment. The reporter wasn't intimidated by the Real Madrid president, who says he won't be subscribing to the newspaper anymore. 

“ABC is part of Vocento,” Pérez began. "It created Relevo, they knew exactly what it was, right? In agreement with LaLiga, it set out to make a digital newspaper that, to sum it up, lost 25 million over its existence. And when LaLiga stopped paying, it went to Telefónica and to Telecinco to see if they would pay. Its only purpose was to go after Real Madrid and its president. And I'm sorry, because my father used to read ABC and he subscribed me many years ago, but now I’ve made the decision to unsubscribe from ABC in order to honor my father, who will appreciate it. How could ABC do that? Nobody bought it, nobody bought it, and it caused a split there. I hereby announce that I’m unsubscribing from ABC. I honor my father more by unsubscribing. Look at the two articles they publish today, from a woman who I don’t know if she knows football or not."

More jabs for the media

Digital media Relevo, which no longer exists, is next to be accused of trying to dig up dirt on Real Madrid at every opportunity. 

"Relevo, which was created by ABC, its only purpose was to go after Real Madrid and Florentino Pérez."

Florentino has now spent about a minute arguing with a journalist who he thought worked for Relevo, but actually worked for ABC. Quite an uncomfortable situation there...

Pérez vows to "end" Negreira refereeing scandal with UEFA dossier

“The Negreira case, a case of sporting corruption, is still lingering. There are referees from that era who are still officiating matches. We are going to present a dossier to UEFA so that it puts an end to it.”

Barcelona and Negreira next on Florentino's hit-list

The next bomb is being launched over to Barcelona, which may not surprise many people...

Pérez: “I will not be intimidated”

"I am the first one who wants to win everything. With me as president, we have won 37 titles in football and 29 in basketball. I want to talk about all those who are campaigning from the shadows. I invite anyone who wants to run. I will run to defend the interests of Real Madrid members. I will not be intimidated. It gives me a lot of energy.

“There are sectors that want to control Real Madrid, but they have not succeeded. At Madrid, journalists or their colleagues do not make the decisions. People don't believe them, they believe me. Journalists think they influence the club's decisions because they consider themselves important, and that is not the case. The members are in charge here. They should not do strange things. Whoever wants to run should run. But they should not go behind my back saying I am tired. I cannot accept it just because we have not won a La Liga and a Champions League this year. They say Madrid is now chaos, and yet it is still the most prestigious club in the world.”

Florentino takes aim at Spanish journalist

Pérez is very agitated here, and he's not impressed with the media. Especially one poor soul from Spanish newspaper ABC, who he has singled out specifically. 

“How can you say that?” he asks after looking up an article written by said journalist about Real Madrid being in criss on his phone. 

Florentino Pérez: “An absurd situation has been created against Real Madrid and against me.”

"An absurd situation has been created against Real Madrid and against me. You don't always win, but we don’t accept it. They take advantage of this situation to attack me. Where is Florentino? If I don’t speak. Some say I am sick, that I have terminal cancer. I want to take this opportunity to address the people who are worried about me. I continue to preside over the club and my company, which generates 50 billion euros a year. My health is perfect. If I were told I have cancer, I would have to go into an oncology center. It would have been reported everywhere in the world. It is not true and that rumor has grown."

Not only is Florentino calling new elections, he's going on the attack...

Florentino Pérez calls Real Madrid elections

It appears the big news is that Pérez is calling for elections for a new Real Madrid president. But will he be running again? We don't know yet. 

Pérez not resigning as Real Madrid president

The very first thing Pérez says is that he's not resigning as Real Madrid president. So that's that. 

Florentino Pérez takes to the stage!

The man is here, what's he about to tell us? 

Real Madrid

Flashback to when Florentino Pérez resigned from Real Madrid in 2006

Florentino Pérez resigning from Real Madrid is so 2006, anyway. It seems incredible to think it now, but Pérez resigned as president in the middle of a Champions League tie between his team and Arsenal, which the Premier League side won. 

Three years later, Pérez was back in his old seat and has been there ever since. 

Here's the story of his unexpected departure from the Bernabéu. 

Will Florentino Pérez announce he is resigning?

My colleagues from AS don't believe that is the case, although the short period of time between the press conference being announced and it starting hasn't given anyone much time to dig around for a reason. 

Real Madrid

Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez calls emergency press conference: When is it and what will he talk about?

We were all just having a nice quiet Tuesday afternoon and boom - along came a Real Madrid official statement, of which there have been plenty in recent days. There has been a lot going on at the Bernabéu in recent days, so we can only assume this emergency press conference is connected. 

This was the first we learned of Florentino's media appearance. 

Florentino Pérez running late

Whatever it is that the Real Madrid president has on his chest, he's running late. Pérez was due to start speaking to the media around 10 minutes, but we're still waiting. 

Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez calls emergency press conference

Hello and welcome to live updates from Florentino Pérez's emergency press conference, which Real Madrid only announced a little over an hour ago! What could Florentino possibly want to tell us?