Perez wants to sell Real's shares
Reading Time: 4min | Tue. 09.06.26. | 10:25
The new/old president is not giving up on the controversial idea
Real Madrid supporters had been slowly simmering in anticipation ahead of the presidential elections, but what has happened less than 24 hours after the polls closed can comfortably be described as collective euphoria and excitement—perhaps even greater than the anticipation surrounding Kylian Mbappe’s long-awaited signing for Los Blancos. Florentino Perez defeated Enrique Riquelme and secured another term in office, but he will not have much time to celebrate and enjoy the victory. The promises he made during the campaign must begin to be fulfilled almost immediately. All eyes are fixed on what the veteran president said three days ago:
“I have some news for you. On Tuesday, I will submit a significant offer to a Champions League club for a world-class player. It would be the largest transfer fee Real Madrid has ever paid in its history—around 150 million euros. The name? I can’t tell you anything more, I’m only giving you a hint of what we’re going to do.”
Thus, sometime today, we should find out whether this was merely an eye-catching campaign promise—or whether Don Florentino is about to shake the football world once again. There have been reports suggesting that Real Madrid is heavily indebted, carrying loans exceeding one billion euros and possessing virtually no transfer reserves, making the situation even more intriguing. When information emerged some time ago that Real planned a move for Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise and was prepared to spend as much as 180 million on the Frenchman, journalists naturally assumed he was the mystery target. However…
“Olise is a fantastic player, but it’s not Olise. It’s not Doku either. Ideally, it would be a midfielder or an attacker. It’s not Haaland. He’s not from the Premier League either. The first thing we’ll do is speak with the club. It’s a signing that should create excitement, because that’s the whole point—creating excitement”.
Since Perez significantly narrowed the field of possible candidates, Spanish journalists quickly turned their attention to Paris Saint-Germain’s squad. Their first thoughts were Vitinha or Joao Neves, as Real genuinely needs a player of that profile—a true successor to Luka Modric. Unable to confidently identify the target, however, they eventually returned to their original theory: could it still be Olise after all?
“If Florentino really wants to send us an offer, we would like to tell him he can spare himself the effort immediately,” Marca quoted Bayern president Herbert Hainer as saying. Marca notes that Bayern has not forgotten the mistake it made in 2014 when it sold Toni Kroos to Real Madrid for just 25 million euros. The legendary midfielder had only one year remaining on his contract at the time. The situation with Olise is completely different, as the Frenchman is under contract until the summer of 2029. The idea of Perez and his associates is reportedly to provide Jose Mourinho with the bulk of his reinforcements before the end of the World Cup. Rumors suggest agreements already exist with Denzel Dumfries of Inter and Ibrahima Konate of Liverpool, with only final details remaining. Real is also said to be applying significant pressure on Manchester City regarding Joško Gvardiol, as the club urgently needs at least one more central defender. Meanwhile, the story surrounding the mysterious superstar signing has yet to truly begin.
Alongside campaign promises and transfer plans, Perez is also dealing with a particularly sensitive issue—the sale of part of the club’s shares. In practice, this means the campaign is not truly over, as he must now convince club members that corporate restructuring is the right path forward. Considering that around 30% of voters turned against him in Sunday’s election, that will not be an easy task. Major decisions of this kind require approval from two-thirds of the club’s paying members. How will the sale be carried out? To whom? What percentage is involved? What will the new corporate structure look like? These are all questions awaiting answers. The re-elected president has only stated that under the new model the club will remain majority-owned by its supporters. Despite having the perfect opportunity during the campaign to explain the issue that concerns members the most, Florentino skillfully avoided the debate. Now, however, he will have to explain in detail exactly what he intends to do. His opponents view the entire process as a maneuver designed to bring fresh capital into the club and refinance existing debt. Supporters, on the other hand, tend to defend the idea by pointing to the business models of English clubs, which have increasingly widened the financial gap thanks to outside investors and investment capital.