Riquelme warns Perez as Real Madrid investment plan heads for members’ vote

Enrique Riquelme, the former candidate for the Real Madrid presidency, has urged Florentino Perez to follow Gianni Infantino’s example and abandon plans to bring private investment into the club’s football operations.

Riquelme made the appeal in a message on social media, referring to FIFA president Infantino’s decision to drop a proposal to privatise part of the commercial structure surrounding the World Cup.

According to Marca, Riquelme based his intervention on a report by Expansion, one of Spain’s leading business newspapers. The report said Infantino had abandoned his intention to create a subsidiary company to market the World Cup – a proposal considered very similar to the model Perez is understood to be exploring at Real Madrid.

“FIFA has managed to correct the situation…” Riquelme wrote in an Instagram post.

He added: “Some people should take notice… not everything is for sale.”

The message was seen as a direct warning to Perez and his closest advisers, at a time when the Real Madrid president is considering a major change to the club’s financial structure.

Perez’s plan to attract private capital remains active. Although he did not disclose it during the recent presidential campaign, apparently because he understood the issue could face widespread opposition from the club’s members, the proposed structure would involve creating a subsidiary company to which Real Madrid’s football business would be transferred.

The intention is to sell between 5% and 10% of that company to one or more external investors.

Perez has already abandoned his initial idea of transforming Real Madrid into a commercial entity. He now recognises that the alternative model would require approval from the club’s members in a referendum.

The first weekend of October could, in principle, be the date chosen by Perez to present the proposal to those members, who are the current owners of the club.

However, internal polling indicates that the Real Madrid president fears strong opposition to the plan. The proposal would represent a significant departure from the club’s history, and the indications are that a tense autumn may be approaching.

Perez is reportedly highly concerned that the project could be rejected outright. The article suggests he may ultimately be forced to abandon the idea, just as Infantino had to bury his World Cup commercialisation plan after facing absolute and widespread opposition.

Infantino’s experience is being presented as a warning for Perez, whose proposed structure is seen as closely resembling the FIFA model. If Real Madrid members reject the move, the club’s effort to secure private investment could suffer the same fate as the abandoned Super League project.

Riquelme, who stood for the Real Madrid presidency in the last election, has therefore used the collapse of Infantino’s proposal to challenge Perez publicly. His intervention comes before any formal vote, but highlights the level of resistance the Real Madrid leadership may face if it proceeds with the plan.