Florentino Pérez re-elected Real Madrid President for eighth time until 2030
. . . brushes off challenge from Enrique Riquelme in club election; plans Mourinho return
White smoke rose over Real Madrid following the re-election of club president Florentino Pérez for an eighth term, extending his leadership until 2030. The 79-year-old faced a rare electoral challenge from businessman Enrique Riquelme, marking the first contested race since 2009.
The outcome was effectively decided shortly before 1 a.m., when Pérez declared victory over “all electoral lists” and described the result as “the second-best in history,” even before official figures were released.
Riquelme, head of the energy group Cox, conceded defeat moments earlier after opinion polls had consistently shown Pérez leading by a wide margin, securing between 60 and 70 percent of votes from club members, who were called to the polls for the first time in 20 years.
Pérez himself had called for early elections following a second consecutive season in which Real Madrid failed to win major trophies, despite having been re-elected unopposed in January 2025 for a fourth consecutive time, according to news agencies.
The Real Madrid president, who has led the club since 2009 and previously served between 2000 and 2006, said in his speech that one of the first major decisions of his new term would be the return of Portuguese coach José Mourinho, 13 years after his initial spell in charge of the team.
