Overview
- The Electoral Board unanimously validated Enrique Riquelme’s candidacy on Sunday, creating the first contested Real Madrid presidential race since 2006 after Florentino Pérez’s earlier approval.
- Riquelme has reportedly met the club’s strict financial test by securing the roughly €187 million bank guarantee through Andbank and Scotiabank, a requirement set by Real Madrid’s statutes.
- Under club rules the Electoral Board must name a voting date within 15 days, with media citing either Sunday May 31 or Sunday June 7 as likely options and a short, intense campaign expected.
- Both camps are using sporting promises to win members: Pérez has floated managerial and signings plans while Riquelme has pledged governance reform, limits on privatisation and a professionalised sporting structure.
- More than 90,000 eligible members will decide the outcome, and the club’s 20-year membership and 15% budget guarantee rules are shaping who can run and how quickly administrative choices will resume.