Fiorentina Perez Hits Back at Critics, Confirms Re-election Run for Real Madrid

Florentino Perez calls club elections, vows to run again

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez calls for club elections, confirms he will run again, and addresses fan protests, Mbappe criticism, and allegations of refereeing corruption in Spain.

Perez addresses fan frustration, training ground bust-ups, and refereeing allegations while announcing his re-election bid...

Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez has called for club elections and confirmed he’ll run again, he announced on Tuesday.

“I’m not stepping down,” the 79-year-old said at a press conference, speaking as Real Madrid head toward ending the season without a trophy.

Barcelona beat Real Madrid 2-0 in Sunday’s Clasico at Camp Nou, sealing consecutive La Liga titles with three matches still to play.

Madrid’s Champions League run ended in the quarter-finals after losing to Bayern Munich.

Alvaro Arbeloa took over from Xabi Alonso in January, but he’s unlikely to stay on as Real’s coach next season. Jose Mourinho, a former Madrid boss, has been mentioned as a possible replacement.

For the second year in a row, Madrid will finish the campaign without winning a major trophy.

Supporters have been protesting Kylian Mbappe over what they see as a lack of commitment. Reports have also surfaced of several clashes at training, including one that put midfielder Fede Valverde in hospital.

Perez said he’s running for another term to respond to what he called an “absurd campaign” against Real Madrid.

“I've made this decision because an absurd situation has been created to generate a tide of opinion against the interests of Real Madrid,” argued Perez.

“I've been here 26 years, and it’s been a wonderful time.”

Pérez accused the media and other figures of using the team’s disappointing season as an opportunity to launch personal attacks against him.

End the Anti-Madrid Wave

“I want to put an end to this anti-Madrid current that wants to destroy Real Madrid,” he said.

“I'm standing for re-election to return the club's assets to its members.

“If anyone wants to run, they shouldn't just pretend - let them run, but let them say what they're going to do, how they're going to finance everything.”

Perez added: “They say out there that Real Madrid is a problem case, but it's the most prestigious club in the world.”

But Perez admitted he was just as frustrated as the rest of Madrid’s supporters about going a second straight season without silverware, and about the incident between Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni.

“I think it’s very bad, and I think it’s even worse that it became public,” Pérez said about the clash, which led to both players being fined €500,000 each.

Florentino Pérez: "We are going to call elections, and I will run with this Board of Directors to defend the interests of the members."

— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) May 12, 2026

Pérez said he and his allies are assembling a 500-page dossier to send to UEFA, citing alleged corruption in Spanish refereeing.

“It's the most serious case of corruption in football,” he said.

“I've only won seven Champions League titles and seven league titles, when I could have won 14 because the others were stolen from me.”

 Enríquez Negreira, the former vice-president of Spain’s refereeing committee, over several years. The club maintains it has done nothing wrong.