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Florentino Pérez, the president of Real Madrid, has responded to the club’s recent sporting crisis by announcing new board elections. At a specially convened press conference, the 79-year-old dismissed rumors of his resignation with characteristic irony: “I regret to say that I am not stepping down.”
The long-serving club chief accused the media of orchestrating a campaign against him and the team. “They say I am ill, that I have incurable cancer. It’s all fabricated. I take this opportunity to tell those who worry about me: I continue to run the club and my company, which generates €50 billion in revenue annually. My health is perfect,” emphasized the construction magnate.
Real Madrid has failed to win a major trophy in the last two seasons. Most recently, they had to watch their archrivals FC Barcelona celebrate the league title at Camp Nou. “The historic club is in crisis due to poor results and a series of scandals, which Spanish media describe as unprecedented.”
Reports from Madrid have increasingly detailed locker room tensions and fights, described as a “war of egos” among stars like Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior, and Jude Bellingham. The situation has allegedly made the search for a successor to coach Álvaro Arbeloa more difficult than expected. However, it is widely believed that José Mourinho, currently at Benfica, will take over at Real again.
Pérez engaged in verbal sparring with journalists at the press conference, claiming the media spread lies and false statements. “They think they can intimidate me, but they give me much more energy than I already have.” He dismissed criticism, saying: “According to Transfermarkt, we have the most valuable squad in the world. We have everything. Why do some media outlets criticize us?” However, the truth is that Real Madrid (squad value: €1.34 billion) lost ground to chasers Manchester City (€1.31 billion) in the March market value updates.
Pérez stated that he and his entire board would run again in the new election, though no date for the vote was given. Spanish media interpreted the press conference as a planned vote of confidence. Having served two previous terms from 2000 to 2006, Pérez has led Real Madrid without interruption since 2009, during which the club has won the Champions League seven times.
