Real Madrid’s statutes clearly stipulate that any member wishing to run for the presidency must have been a club member for over 20 consecutive years and provide a guarantee equivalent to 15% of the club’s budget. With Real Madrid’s current budget set at €1.28 billion, candidates and their boards are required to secure a guarantee of €187 million.
In a hastily convened press conference, Florentino Pérez announced the initiation of Real Madrid’s presidential election. “Unfortunately, I will not resign. I have asked the Electoral Committee to begin the process for the board election, and the current board will participate in this election,” he stated.
Below is a detailed analysis of the requirements for Real Madrid members aspiring to run for president.
Aside from the mandatory 20-year membership, the main challenge lies in the guarantee. Real Madrid’s budget now exceeds €1 billion, specifically €1.28 billion. Candidates must provide a guarantee of 15% of this budget, which amounts to €187 million. Additionally, once the election process begins, candidates have a 10-day window to submit their lists.
Thus, €187 million is the asset guarantee required for the president and their board to run.
This guarantee is not solely the responsibility of the president but is shared among all board members.
They must possess these assets and bear the corresponding risks, as per the statutes, the guarantee takes effect immediately once the board is elected. Before the statutes were amended, the guarantee could be submitted later. Clearly, any bank would be willing to provide the guarantee for Real Madrid. However, in this case, the bank guarantees the president and their board. Meanwhile, the cost of securing such a high-value guarantee varies but is approximately €2 million. All regulations regarding presidential elections are outlined in Article 40 of the club’s social statutes, which serve as the club’s constitution.
**Requirements to Become a Candidate**
1. Hold Spanish nationality.
2. Be of legal age and have full legal capacity.
3. Fulfill member obligations and have no outstanding debts.
4. As a club member, the presidential candidate must have at least 20 years of continuous membership. Vice-presidential candidates need 15 years, and other board members require 10 years.
5. Not be subject to any disqualification from holding managerial positions.
6. At the time of being officially declared a candidate, must not hold a managerial position in another football club, nor be an active player, referee, coach, or technical staff.
7. Submit a bank guarantee within the specified timeframe, meeting the terms, conditions, and amounts set by Law 10/1990 and other applicable regulations, as well as points 3 and 4 of Section C in this article.
However, what is more critical are the conditions the candidate list must satisfy. These conditions were tightened a few years ago when Real Madrid amended its statutes. Specifically:
**Candidate List Requirements**
1. The list must include at least the presidential candidate and no fewer than nine board member candidates.
2. The list must be signed by the candidates, with signatures legally authenticated, and include a formal declaration accepting the nomination.
3. Attach a pre-guarantee issued by any credit institution, bank, or savings bank registered in the Spanish Bank Entity Registry, with a minimum amount equal to 15% of the club’s general expenditure budget. The guarantee document must state that if this presidential and board candidate list is elected and the presidential candidate officially assumes office, the pre-guarantee will automatically convert into a final guarantee.
4. The issuing credit institution, bank, or savings bank must specify in the guarantee that it is approved based on the candidates’ personal assets and that the sole and exclusive guarantee is these board candidates’ personal assets.
According to the statutes, the current president and board hold full powers until another board is elected. Regarding the timeline, the statutes are explicit: “Within two days of an event requiring a presidential and board election, the Electoral Committee will decide to begin the electoral process and open a period of 10 calendar days from the announcement for submitting candidacy lists. This decision must be posted on the club’s official notice board and published in at least two Madrid newspapers.”
Candidate lists will be reviewed by the Electoral Committee the day after submission. This is a stringent hurdle. The statutes state: “The Electoral Committee may request additional information necessary to ensure that, under any circumstances, the guarantee is not based on assets of individuals outside the candidate list members.”
