The Ultimate Guide To Real Madrid’s 2026 Presidential Election

BusinessSportsMoneyThe Ultimate Guide To Real Madrid’s 2026 Presidential ElectionBySam Leveridge,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Sam Leveridge is a reporter based in Spain with a focus on soccer.Follow AuthorMay 31, 2026, 02:38pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Current President Florentino Pérez is facing a rival at the election for the first time in 20 years.AFP via Getty ImagesOn Sunday June 7th, Real Madrid’s approximately 95,000 registered members will decide who will lead the world’s most commercially powerful soccer club for the next four years. It is the first time since 2006 that there will actually be a choice on the ballot paper to be the club’s next President.Florentino Pérez, 79, faces businessman Enrique Riquelme, 37, in a contest that represents the first genuine electoral challenge to the incumbent since his return to the presidency in 2009. Pérez was re-elected unopposed in 2013, 2017, 2021 and 2025.Pérez called the elections in the wake of a challenging season that saw the club fail to win a major trophy for the second consecutive year, a drought that, by Real Madrid’s own lofty historical standards, qualifies as a crisis. Protests from sections of the support during matches, some targeting Pérez directly alongside players including Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham, had made the political temperature inside the Bernébu uncomfortable. The early election call, announced in a spectacular and controversial press conference, was widely read as a confidence vote: Pérez daring anyone in the shadows to step forward. That’s exactly what Riquelme has since done.When and where does the vote happen?Voting takes place on June 7, 2026 from 9am to 8pm CEST at the Basketball Pavilion of Ciudad Real Madrid, the club’s Valdebebas complex on the outskirts of the capital. Postal votes are also available for members on the electora...