Pérez re-elected Real Madrid president to pave way for Mourinho’s return

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Florentino Pérez has earned four more years as Real Madrid’s president after winning club elections on Sunday.

“We are going to keep working so that Real Madrid keeps winning more titles,” he told his supporters at a late night victory party soon after Real Madrid’s club television channel reported Pérez had beaten challenger Enrique Riquelme.

The club is yet to make the vote count public.

Pérez’s victory will pave the way for him to bring back Portuguese coach José Mourinho for a second stint at Madrid. Mourinho, who coached Madrid from 2010-2013, was featured in promotional material for Pérez during the campaign.

Pérez said he was “proud that José Mourinho, one of the best coaches in the world, is set to return.”

Pérez has also said he wants to sign Liverpool center back Ibrahima Konaté and Inter Milan right back Denzel Dumfries, in addition to a pledge to bring in another major signing to be disclosed this week worth more than 150 million euros ($173 million).

The 79-year-old Pérez ran Madrid from 2000-2006 and from 2009 until now. Under his leadership, Madrid has won seven of its record 15 European Cups.

Madrid has also been the most valuable club in the world for the last five years, according to Forbes.

Pérez, who also runs an international construction company, hadn’t been challenged for Madrid’s presidency by a rival candidate in over 20 years. He ran unchallenged when elections were scheduled in 2009, 2013, 2017, 2021 and 2025.

That said, Pérez has had a frustrating run of late. His Super League scheme to launch a rival competition to UEFA’s Champions League fell through, and Madrid has gone two seasons without winning a title despite recruiting star striker Kylian Mbappé.

Pérez has also been criticized for last year floating the idea of selling 10% of the club to private investors, a move that would break with 124 years of the member ownership model.

Riquelme congratulated Pérez and accepted the result. But he signaled that he will consider running again. Pérez’s term will run through 2030.

“For us, this is not the end, this is the beginning,” Riquelme said. “Real Madrid won’t spend another 20 years without holding elections.”

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Riquelme, a renewable energy executive, launched his candidacy after an agitated Pérez announced elections last month during a news conference when he dared anyone to challenge him and denounced what he called a media campaign to topple him.

Despite being relatively unknown to the wider public, the 37-year-old Riquelme mounted a credible campaign after getting the backing of former Madrid players such as Raúl González, Fernando Hierro and Iker Casillas. He also promised to sign Manchester City star Erling Haaland. City and Haaland’s agent dismissed the chance of him moving to Madrid this summer.

There were 98,000 club members eligible to vote. The election was held at Madrid’s basketball pavilion because the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium is being used for an event by Pope Leo XIV during his weeklong visit to Spain.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer