Real Madrid’s Annual General Meeting
During Real Madrid’s annual general meeting, president Florentino Perez delivered a forceful address where he took aim at a number of targets including LaLiga’s president Javier Tebas, rivals FC Barcelona, refereeing practices in Spain, and UEFA. This meeting, held at the club’s training facility in Valdebebas, saw participation from approximately 1,500 club representatives amidst 98,000 members, who reviewed the annual financials and posed questions to the board.
Perez’s Key Points
In his 80-minute speech, Perez condemned LaLiga’s unsuccessful proposal to host a regular season match in Miami, referring to the recent changes to Spanish refereeing as merely “cosmetic” following the controversial Negreira scandal. He expressed his unwavering belief in triumphing over UEFA concerning the Super League initiatives, stating,
“I’m more convinced than ever”
of success.
Perez highlighted plans for an extraordinary meeting to discuss possible amendments to the club’s statutes intended to ensure that Real Madrid can effectively tackle future challenges while maintaining competitive equity with other clubs. In a previous gathering earlier this year, he hinted at a necessary “corporate reorganization” to safeguard the club’s assets, particularly in light of conflicts with LaLiga around the CVC investment agreement and broadcasting rights revenue.
He mentioned,
“We will conduct a referendum for all members to decide. Our main goal is to protect the club from threats to our assets… We aim to be recognized as the club’s true owners while preserving our status as members’ club, potentially introducing a subsidiary owned by members with room for a 5% partnership for a significant investor who aligns with our values.”
The timing of this extraordinary meeting has yet to be announced.
Confrontations with Governing Bodies
Historically, Perez has led Real Madrid through numerous confrontations with football governing bodies concerning the sport’s trajectory. Addressing the perception that Real Madrid opposes everything, he affirmed,
“That’s clearly untrue. Numerous issues are troubling, and we have a duty to respond.”
Highlighting Real Madrid’s unique capabilities, he asserted,
“We are the only sports institution with the necessary power and resources to combat these challenges… Our resilience shields us from intimidation tactics, a privilege not extended to many other clubs. While not all clubs speak up, we stand united.”
Criticism of Barcelona and UEFA
Perez’s remarks became more pointed toward Barcelona following their reconciliation with LaLiga and their withdrawal from the Super League initiative. He criticized the payments made by Barcelona to the refereeing vice-president, stating,
“It is unusual for Barcelona to have paid more than €8 million to the refereeing vice president over 17 years, coinciding with their peak achievements.”
Recently, Real Madrid announced their intention to seek compensation from UEFA for obstructing the Super League. A ruling by the European Court of Justice, as well as findings from a Madrid court, indicated that UEFA violated EU competition laws. Perez reiterated,
“We firmly believe the Super League is vital for football. With these significant court rulings, our position has changed considerably.”
He conveyed the club’s determination to seek reparations for losses incurred due to UEFA’s actions, emphasizing their right to pursue both compensation and the establishment of future competitions, pledging that the club would vigorously chase these goals. Despite ongoing discussions, he noted that attempts to find common ground with UEFA had not yet yielded results.
