These next two weeks are going to be exciting in Madrid. Pending official confirmation, the presidential elections of the club in the Spanish capital will be held on Sunday June 7. Two fighters are present in the ring: Florentino Pérez, who needs no introduction, and Enrique Riquelme, a young Spanish businessman who made his fortune in renewable energies and managed to meet all the criteria to be able to present himself, which was not an easy task. Little by little, the 38-year-old man, based in Mexico, reveals the outlines of his sporting project to put Real Madrid back on the right path.
Professionalize the club
Beyond institutional considerations and issues – he wishes to avoid at all costs a sale of a share of the club’s capital to foreign funds – the boss of the Cox group wants to professionalize the club. As explained in our columns on several occasions in recent months, Real Madrid still operates a little old-fashioned in many areas, such as scouting, and has not necessarily taken certain turns linked to data or artificial intelligence that other clubs have taken. Enrique Riquelme, for example, wants to appoint a sports director, a position which does not currently exist at Real Madrid. And clearly, you can feel it.
A sports director would make it easier to make the link between the coach and the presidency, a bit like what is done at Barça, where Hansi Flick, Deco and Joan Laporta work hand in hand. If Florentino Pérez will make José Mourinho his new coach in the event of victory, Riquelme has already confirmed that he will not entrust the position of coach to the Portuguese, whose possible return is also very divisive. No name of coach has yet been given by the candidate, even if the Spanish press has already mentioned that of Jürgen Klopp. However, the German did not want, according to the latest news at least, to return to a club bench.
An XXL transfer window to be expected
And we know that to win elections, you have to impress the socios in terms of the transfer window. Promising quality recruits is perhaps even the main argument for getting elected. And Enrique Riquelme is not going to skimp on resources, since he has already assured that in the event of victory, two international stars will arrive at Real Madrid. Here too, he has not (yet) given any names, but the Spanish press is already talking about Erling Haaland (Manchester City) or Kai Havertz (Arsenal). Noticed statements that are making noise in Spain.
Finally, Riquelme wishes there were more Spaniards at Real Madrid. Or at least, more top level Spanish players. He did not hesitate to emphasize this point again during an appearance on Tuesday evening, after the publication of La Roja’s list for the World Cup, in which no player from the club appears. We can therefore also envisage the arrival of one or more important Spanish players, this summer or the next ones in the event of Enrique Riquelme’s victory. Ambitious promises that – in the event of victory – must be kept…
