Real Madrid president Florentino Perez on Tuesday called club elections and announced that he would stand again, despite a season in which Real Madrid will finish trophyless.
“I am not going to resign,” the 79-year-old Perez told a press conference towards the end of a season in which Barcelona defeated Real Madrid in the Clasico to claim back-to-back La Liga titles, and Madrid bowed out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals against Bayern Munich.
Perez justified his bid for a new term in response to what he dubbed 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,” Perez argued. “I’ve been here 26 years, and it’s been a wonderful time.”
Perez took aim at media campaigns and other personalities, claiming they were taking advantage of this season’s poor results to target him personally.
“I want to put an end to this anti-Madrid current that wants to destroy Real Madrid. 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,” he said.
He admitted that he was as frustrated as the rest of Madrid’s fans about the lack of trophies for the second consecutive year and also about the altercation between players Fede Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni, which ended with both players being fined.
This season has seen Madrid finish without a major trophy for a second year running. Current Real coach Alvaro Arbeloa, who replaced Xabi Alonso in January, is unlikely to remain at the helm next season, and former Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has been linked with a potential return.
