Florentino Perez will this morning begin a new term as Real Madrid president with a raft of issues to address.
Perez beat Enrique Riquelme in the election yesterday with the final votes showing a comprehensive victory for the 79-year-old, who now has control until 2030.
Riquelme, whose controversial campaign included claims he was going to sign Rodri and Erling Haaland from Manchester City, managed 35% of the votes but that was not enough with 65% of the club’s members voting to keep Perez in the post.
Perez has been in charge for 23 years at the Santiago Bernabeu across two spells and overseen seven Champions League title successes.
However, he has some major issues to address to guide the club back to the top.
Here, we analyse three of the biggest.
Appoint Mourinho and allow him to reshape the squad
Although he has yet to confirm it, it is an open secret that Jose Mourinho will now be the new Real Madrid boss, returning for a second spell.
He will have to massage the egos of a difficult dressing room that crumbled into disarray last season under Xabi Alonso and then Alvaro Arbeloa. Reports of player disagreements were commonplace and it all spilled over when Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni got into a fracas that left the former in hospital.
Mourinho is, therefore, an odd choice given his combustible nature and tendency to fall out with players. He also plays a brand of football that is unlikely to bring Madrid into the modern age of high energy, attacking football employed by the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and arch rivals Barcelona.
Denzel Dumfries and Ibrahima Konate will sign for Madrid in the coming days to bolster a defence that was hampered by injuries last season but there are several other areas that need strengthening, most notably central midfield.
There is also the issue of Vinicius Jr’s contract which has just 12 months remaining on it. The Brazil superstar has hinted he wants to stay but the longer talks stall the greater the possibility of him walking away on a free next summer.
Declare referendum into external investment
One of the more controversial elements of Perez’s campaign was his admission he would look to sell a percentage of the club to an external investor to raise capital.
Having won his first battle, against Riquelme, he will now go back to the Madrid members in a referendum to get their approval.
Details at this point are sketchy. Although he has confirmed his intention, Perez has yet to declare what percentage of the club he would look to sell, and to whom.
He said in November: “We will continue to be a club of members, and we must create a subsidiary in which the 100,000 members of Real Madrid always retain absolute control. On that basis, this subsidiary could simply incorporate a minority stake, for example, 5% of one or more investors committed to the very long term and willing to contribute their own resources.”
Defeat in a referendum would instantly weaken Perez’s position and lead to more uncertainty.
Deliver on the Galactico pledge
Perez was slightly more cautious in his pre-election pledges than Riquelme but did vow that should he be successful he would send a club-record €150million offer for a “great player”.
Various names were subsequently thrown at Perez and, although he denied it, the player in question is widely believed to be Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise.
Bayern have already said the France international is not available no matter what Madrid do, leaving Perez in a difficult situation.
Clubs know Madrid will want a statement signing and will use that as leverage to drive up the price.
