Riquelme accuses Florentino Pérez of hiding serious financial crisis at Real Madrid

Enrique Riquelme, candidate for the presidency of Real Madrid, launched a frontal attack against incumbent president Florentino Pérez during his second-to-last campaign speech, reported by newspaper AS on Saturday. He accuses his rival of concealing from club members a financial situation he describes as a “very serious crisis”.

“Real Madrid has squandered over 770 million euros in cash in a very short time,” Riquelme declared. “Its cash reserves have plummeted by 99% and its equity has been reduced to just a few million.” Figures presented without independent sources, in the context of an election campaign, but whose impact immediately fueled debate within the club.

Riquelme also questioned the transparency of the internal democratic process. “There is no greater democratic fraud than sending supporters to vote without them knowing the true situation of their club,” he stated. If victorious, he committed to ordering a public audit within the first hundred days of his term.

On the substance, the candidate cited analyses which, according to him, “warn of a real risk to the club’s future economic viability if the situation is not corrected quickly”. He concluded his speech with a striking phrase: “It is urgent to lift the veil and open the windows of the Santiago Bernabéu.”

The vote takes place this Sunday, and the name of Real Madrid’s new president is to be announced following the count. Florentino Pérez, who has presided over the club since 2009 in his second period at the helm of the institution, has not yet publicly responded to his rival’s accusations.