For the first time in 20 years, Real Madrid are set to have a presidential election.
The results will determine if Florentino Pérez continues as Los Blancos president or a fresh leader takes the helm and steers the club in a new direction.
June 7 is the date all Madridistas have circled on their calendar – it is the date on which longstanding incumbent Pérez faces off against young businessman Enrique Riquelme.
It looks to be a battle of diverging paths, ideas and visions for the future, writes Rant Sport’s Wanga Charma.
Pérez seeking to extend rule
On the one hand, we have Florentino Pérez, who has been Madrid president for almost a quarter of a century.
He oversaw the modernisation of the club in the early 2000s, steadying the ship during a financial crisis and ushering in the era of galácticos at the club.
Indeed, his promise to sign Luís Figo from bitter rivals Barcelona tipped the scales in his favour in the 2000 elections, and by 2004 he secured 94.2 per cent of the total votes.
Throughout his tenure, Pérez has ensured that the best and brightest football stars grace the Bernabéu pitch.
From Figo, David Beckham, Ronaldo Nazario and Roberto Carlos to the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaká, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema, the list is extensive.
Beyond the superstar names, he has guided the club to a relatively underwhelming seven La Liga titles – but more than made up for it with seven UEFA Champions League titles.
Pérez is effectively synonymous with Real, but the last two years have caused doubt to creep into fans’ minds, with many now looking to new blood to save them and the club.
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Riquelme promises to re-energise club
As for the opposition, not much is known about Riquelme other than that he is a tycoon in the energy industry.
However, the manifesto he unveiled has lofty goals and ambitions for the club.
Riquelme, among a host of other things, has promised to significantly improve the current sports facilities, construct a brand-new basketball arena for the basketball section, increase the capacity of the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium – used by the women’s and youth teams – and promised to sign two new superstars should he be elected.
The latter is, of course, a tactic employed by Pérez himself 26 years ago.
Ultimately, the various strands of discourse surrounding the elections from online sources and accounts like ‘The Madrid Zone’ and ‘Madrid Xtra’ all echo a similar sentiment.
Given the last couple of seasons, has Pérez’s time finally come to an end with change now needed or would it be better to stick with a tried and tested candidate?
In other words, is it a case of better the devil you know or is the grass looking greener on Riquelme’s side?
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