“Whoever is moving in the shadows, they can run for president, debate me, and let’s see what their plan is,” Florentino Perez said on Tuesday. “Let the club members decide.”

Perez has been Real Madrid president since returning for a second spell 17 years ago. On Tuesday, he held a press conference to call a snap election for his position — despite having an active mandate that runs until 2029.

Madrid last held a presidential election in January 2025, when Perez was declared winner as the only candidate. The same thing happened in 2021, 2017, 2013 and 2009.

The process for this year’s election was clarified on Thursday. The club said candidates had until May 23 to declare their intention to stand. However, any rivals to Perez must first meet several strict criteria — including proving personal wealth of at least €187million (£162m; $219m).

So why is it so difficult to run for the Madrid presidency? Will we see another name come forward? Why is Perez calling the election now? And will it affect the club’s plans for a rebuild?

The Athletic explains.

There are very tight rules governing who can stand for election at Real Madrid — partly due to changes made to the club statutes in September 2012, three years after Perez returned to power, having also served from 2000 to 2006.

Now, only Spanish citizens can run, and candidates must have been club members for 20 years (it used to be 15). The key change was requiring any contender to advance a bank guarantee proving they have personal wealth equivalent to 15 per cent of Madrid’s annual budget.

Revenues have grown dramatically under Perez since the rules were introduced. Madrid’s budget for 2012-13 was €518.7million. The budget for this season was €1.25billion — 15 per cent would be €187m.

“The guarantee must be from the candidate,” Perez said in 2012 when defending these changes at a press conference. “Nobody should be able to sweet-talk their way into control. I don’t want to think badly of anyone, not of Arab sheikhs or Russians, but this is our own thing.”

The new statutes were put to a vote of delegate club members (socios compromisarios) chosen to represent the entire membership, which today stands at around 100,000. They easily passed with 997 votes in favour, 100 against and 15 abstentions.

However, not everybody believed the changes were in the club’s best interests. Among those questioning them were its two most recent other presidents.

“The changes to the statutes are taking the club away from its members,” said Vicente Boluda, a shipping magnate who served as interim Madrid president for a short spell in 2009, before Perez was re-elected.

“The only motive for this requirement is that Florentino wants to eliminate competitors for the next elections.”

Ramon Calderon, who served from 2006 to 2009, joked: “It would have been more logical to make sure the election is in good hands, for the name of the candidate to begin ‘Flo’, and for them to be a structural engineer (as Perez is).”

Concerned Madrid socio groups brought legal challenges, with Boluda among those testifying in court, but judges rejected their complaints.

Perez is well aware that the biggest stumbling block for potential rivals is the bank guarantee.

During Tuesday’s press conference, he repeated that whoever runs against him must have the personal wealth to qualify and they cannot be backed by anybody else’s funds.

This is a specific Real Madrid thing. At Barcelona (another Spanish club owned by its members, as are Osasuna and Athletic Club), president Joan Laporta relies on help from fellow directors to meet a similar requirement.

The last actual vote for the Real Madrid presidency was back in 2006, after Perez resigned, saying he believed the club needed a new direction. Calderon prevailed in a five-candidate race with a winning margin of just 0.8 per cent (246 votes), and a subsequent legal challenge over the validity of some postal votes.

Historically, Madrid’s elections featured multiple candidates and were closely fought. When Perez first ran in 1995, he lost by just 480 votes to incumbent Ramon Mendoza. In 2000, Lorenzo Sanz was widely considered a shoo-in for another term, with the team having just won the Champions League for the second time in three seasons.

But Perez’s audacious campaign promise to sign Portuguese winger Luis Figo from Barcelona swung the race, and he was elected by 16,469 votes to 13,302. Any challenger now would likely also have to make a similarly outlandish pledge, and convince socios that they would deliver. Perez won another vote in 2004 — the most recent time he has been contested for the presidency.

Enrique Riquelme with retired Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal in July 2025 (Photo by Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images for Twiga Monte-Carlo)

One potential candidate is renewable energy entrepreneur Enrique Riquelme, whom Perez referenced during Tuesday’s rambling press conference without actually naming him.

Riquelme, 37, is chief executive of renewable energy company Cox Energy. He openly considered running in 2021’s Real Madrid elections and has continued to build links with influential figures around the Bernabeu outside Perez’s regime — but did not stand in 2025.

On Wednesday, he wrote an open letter to Perez in Spanish sports daily Marca. He said he had the “financial capacity” required, but called for a “longer and more open” election process.

Earlier in the day, a report in Barcelona-based media outlet La Vanguardia claimed Riquelme was considering a joint run alongside David Mesonero, an executive at Iberdrola — another Spanish renewable energy company. The report claimed that former Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal was approached as part of that proposal. Nadal denied involvement in a social media post that afternoon.

On Thursday morning, Madrid formally called the elections and triggered the 10-day period during which candidates must present their bids.

The club’s electoral board will have the power to reject a candidacy they decide does not meet the requirements. A vote will only take place if two or more candidates are accepted.

Perez’s snap announcement took most people by surprise this week, although the way it was done made clear that he and his closest advisors felt they should make a decisive move now to shake out any other challengers preparing a future bid.

Madrid’s statutes also mean that, unlike at Barcelona, Perez does not have to resign while this process plays out. He could still sign players to new contracts (such as Vinicius Junior, whose active deal runs out in June 2027) or hire a new coach. Talks have already taken place with Jose Mourinho’s representatives over a second spell, replacing Alvaro Arbeloa.

Perez, 79, remains firmly convinced that he is the best person to be Madrid president, and that he retains the support of the vast majority of the club’s members. This is the case even after a disastrous 2025-26 season during which some fans have called on him to resign in chants at the Bernabeu.

In theory, Madrid’s members have the power to choose who leads the club. In practice, it is not so simple.