MADRID, May 23 (Reuters) - Renewables tycoon Enrique Riquelme on Saturday confirmed he would be running for the presidency of Real Madrid, presenting the first challenge in more than two decades to Florentino Perez's hold on the world's richest soccer club.
"We are facing a historical moment in Real Madrid's history: for the first time in 20 years, the Real Madrid fans will be able to vote and choose their next president," Riquelme said.
"We are confident in the amazing project we will propose for the future of the club and I urge the fans to listen to us kindly and give us a chance to build a better future for our great club."
Riquelme went in person to present his papers at the club's facilities in Valdebebas, northeast of Madrid city centre.
Real's Electoral Commission will examine his documentation on Sunday and, if it is deemed valid, officially confirm his candidacy and schedule the election, expected to take place on June 7.
On May 12, Perez, 79, called an election despite having two years left on his mandate. It followed a second straight season without silverware for the record 15-times European champions. Real's arch-rivals Barcelona retained their LaLiga title.
The season was also marred by fighting amongst Real's players and the abrupt sacking of manager Xabi Alonso.
The presidential campaign appeared to be humming even before Riquelme had formally entered the contest.
Perez unfurled a giant banner on the facade of a building in central Madrid featuring an image of the seven Champions League titles won during his presidency and the slogan: "So much history yet to be made."
Riquelme informed the Real Madrid board on Thursday of his intention to run and, under electoral rules, had until Saturday to make a definitive decision.
COX ENERGY FOUNDER
Riquelme founded Cox Energy in 2014 to specialise in solar power in Europe and Latin America, winning significant projects in Chile, Mexico, and Spain. The company manages more than 1.2 gigawatts of energy projects in Spain through Ibox Energy.
One of Cox's largest operations was the acquisition in 2025 of Iberdrola's assets in Mexico for $4.2 billion including debt.
In his May 13 open letter to Perez, who is an infrastructure development mogul and CEO of the civil engineering ACS Group, Riquelme said the club needed to have a more democratic electoral process and said the best institutions were those that combined "experience and renewal, past and future."
Riquelme had to clear the demanding requirements set out in Real's statutes, tightened during Perez's presidency.
Candidates must be Spanish, club members for at least 20 years and personally provide a bank guarantee worth 15% of the club's budget.
For the 2025-26 season, that guarantee is 187.2 million euros ($217.19 million) based on Real Madrid's record spending budget of 1.248 billion euros.
Riquelme secured it through Catalonia-based Andbank, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.
Perez, who according to Forbes has amassed a fortune of $6.8 billion as president of construction group ACS, has led Real across two spells since 2000, when he defeated Lorenzo Sanz.
He returned as the sole candidate in 2009 and has since won five consecutive elections unopposed.
($1 = 0.8619 euros)
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas, Graham Keeley, Charlie Devereux, Jesus Aguado; Editing by Ken Ferris)
