Chaos at Valdebebas: Florentino Pérez Calls for Elections

Published: 13 May 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online.

The atmosphere inside the press room at Valdebebas felt heavy with a strange, lingering tension today. Journalists had been summoned with very little notice to witness what many expected to be a routine. Instead of a formal briefing, the audience watched a scene that felt detached from normal reality. Florentino Pérez sat behind a simple desk while looking repeatedly at a mobile phone that never rang. He held a stack of papers but never seemed to actually read the words written on them. With a defiant look, he announced he was calling for new presidential elections at Real Madrid. However, he failed to provide a date or any logistical details for this sudden democratic process. The usual protocols for a sporting election were entirely absent from his long and rambling speech. No mention was made of the electoral commission or the formal resignation required by club statutes. This lack of detail left everyone in the room feeling confused about the future of Madrid.

The president did not address the many sporting failures that have plagued the club this year. He made no mention of the current head coach or the swirling rumors regarding José Mourinho. The disastrous season the team just suffered was ignored as if it had never actually happened. Pérez stated clearly that he was not there to talk about any specific sporting issues today. He chose instead to deliver a surreal and repetitive rant that lasted for over an hour. Even his own communications staff tried several times to bring the strange event to a close. The directors sitting in the front row looked at each other with deep and visible concern. They seemed just as surprised as the reporters by the incoherent direction of his lengthy speech. It was the rambling of a man who insisted his health was perfect despite the chaos.

The seventy-nine year old president claimed he was enjoying the spectacle of the crowded press conference. Yet many observers felt it was clearly time for the veteran leader to finally go home. The laughter from the gathered press was mostly born of deep discomfort rather than genuine humor. This was his first major media appearance since Zinedine Zidane left the club so unexpectedly. Facing the press usually implies an interrogation, but this felt more like a frantic verbal battle. Questions from the floor were not answered but were used as cues for the same points. He used every opportunity to attack various newspapers or radio stations that he no longer trusted. The man who once looked sad in 2018 now appeared to be aggressive and threatening. He demanded that his secret enemies come out from the shadows to face him in public. It was a performance that mirrored the final days of a falling and desperate emperor.

Paranoia seemed to be the driving force behind almost every sentence the president spoke today. He claimed that people would have to shoot him to remove him from his high office. He insisted that he retained the total support of every single member of the famous club. Pérez vowed to finish the bad people who were supposedly working to destroy his great legacy. He never identified who these people were or what their specific crimes against him involved. The president simply challenged them to run against him while knowing the rules make it hard. Madrid statutes require a candidate to be Spanish and have twenty years of continuous club membership. A candidate must also provide a personal bank guarantee of nearly two hundred million euros today. These strict rules have allowed Pérez to stand entirely unopposed in every election since 2009. Democracy at the club has started to look like a very carefully managed political illusion.

He appeared to make a veiled reference to the young Spanish businessman named Enrique Riquelme. Pérez would not say the name but mocked a man with a South American accent. He spoke of enemies at the gates and hinted at the complex politics of the court. The president told the room to leave all the internal enemies for him to handle. He also lashed out at the ultras who have long been a thorn in his side. Even the referees were not safe from his wide-ranging and bitter list of modern grievances. He brought up the Negreira case and insisted it was not a thing of the past. The club is reportedly preparing a massive dossier to send to the authorities at UEFA. Pérez claimed he had been robbed of seven league titles during his long time in power. He seemed to believe that a vast conspiracy was working against him at every turn.

When asked if the real enemy was in the room, he answered with a firm yes. He believes the media conspires against the club to seize control of its great assets. The president insisted that radio hosts and papers work together to damage the Real Madrid brand. He used harsh words like horrible and resentful to describe the journalists sitting before him. Accusations of collusion and fake news were thrown around the room with very little care. He spoke of regime intellectuals who were supposedly plotting to take over his cherished institution. He specifically targeted a digital sports outlet that he claimed was set up to attack him. Pérez noted with some satisfaction that the publication had allegedly gone out of business recently. He then announced he was canceling his long-standing subscription to a major national newspaper today. He peered at his phone to read a line claiming he was tired and old.

He then confronted a reporter in the room who had not even written the specific piece. Pérez accused the man of going for the club every single day without any justification. The reporter responded with a level of dignity that the president seemed to lack entirely. Some other journalists were greeted more warmly as friends but were given very strange instructions. He told them to speak with their critical colleagues to ensure they followed the club line. The president went round and round in circles while repeating his claims of total infamy. He stated that it would be bad to call himself the best president in history. However, he then immediately claimed that he was indeed the greatest leader the club had. He cited various financial figures to prove that Madrid remains the biggest club on earth. Everything he does is allegedly for the good of the members and global football.

He spoke of a bizarre dream where children in Africa could watch football for free. This altruistic claim felt out of place amidst the angry accusations he had leveled earlier. He noted that people often ask where he is or if he still exists today. By standing at the podium, he wanted to prove he was still the dominant force. The entire performance was viewed as bizarre, baffling, and ultimately quite sad for the fans. When he called himself the best, it felt like a man convinced of his legend. He reminded everyone that he runs a global business turning over fifty billion euros annually. He dismissed reports of his fatigue by listing the sixty-six titles won under his rule. He claimed he must stop the attacks for the sake of the club members. Pérez insisted he was the most valued president in the long history of the sport. He ended by saying he only wants to defend the institution from its many foes.

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