Real Madrid President Florentino Perez has a long chapter in the history of the club, and his two spells in charge have fundamentally altered the entity on a global level. It was thought that the renovation of the Santiago Bernabeu was his last great legacy move, but reportedly, he is considering a much larger change before he leaves.
The 77-year-old patriarch is set to run for at least one more term in office, and is exploring options to strengthen the club’s position in a legal and financial sense. The sale of 11% La Liga’s TV rights for 50 years in the CVC deal, and various moves by UEFA (chiefly blocking the Superleague no doubt) have been categorised as attacks and hostile moves on finances Perez believes Real Madrid should have control over.
In addition, the rise in state ownership of clubs alongside billionaires in the Premier League has increased fears that Los Blancos could fall into what Perez believes are ‘the wrong hands’. El Confidencial explain that Perez is exploring two options, one of which involves increasing the rights of members, while modernising the structure of the club, and ensuring the club remains the property of the club itself – it is not clear exactly what this involves at this stage, but it would mean converting it into a private company with the members as the shareholders.
The other would be a major shift in Spanish football. Perez has been discussing options with legal firm Clifford Chance and investment banking firm Key Capital Partners, including the option of putting Real Madrid on the stock market. JP Morgan and banker John Hahn are also aware of Perez’s intentions. Ultimately, this second option would involve getting member approval to put up to 49.9% of club up for sale, but capping the amount of the club that could be sold there, so that the members would always remain in control.
Choosing the latter would be a major shift in the club’s ownership model, and while it might take them into a different territory legally, it would mean relinquishing a large chunk of the club to self-interested investors, rather than members. Theoretically, every member has an equal say in the club’s future, where as opening the door to investors would bring an end to that, albeit with the members having the final say on major decisions.
In order to do so, Perez would have to put the changes to a vote, but in recent years, the membership has barely challenged his intentions.
