“Real Madrid has to change and adapt to defend his interests” – that was the message of President Florentino Perez at the general meeting of Real Madrid in November. It was the first public recognition of a series of stories that the man at the top was a potential change in the ownership model in the Santiago Bernabeu.
The most decorated club in the history of the European Cup has been owned by the members since the founding 122 years ago, and despite the fact that they came to Braak during the civil war, Bernabeu was converted into a colossus. So far, however, presidents have been chosen by members, even if Perez is largely not opposed to a large part of the 21st century.
Official details are blurry, but Perez had the following to say at the general meeting earlier this season.
“We will make this meeting a proposal for the business reorganization of the club that will clearly protect our future, protects us against the threats that we are confronted with and, above all, ensure that we members are the real owners of our club, the real owners of our financial assets on ourselves.”
Previous reports had indicated that he was planning to convert Real Madrid members into shareholders, in a model that would ensure that 51% of the shareholders would remain Real Madrid. The idea was that members could not sell their shares and only be passed on to the family while they could attract foreign investments.
However, from a report from El Confidentencial, as referred to by sport, it reveals that Clifford Chance has advised against the idea. The American consultancy firm worked on the idea with Perez and sent him a report on this, with emphasized possible issues.
Their opinion is that allocating the shares to the Real Madrid Foundation would go against current legislation, and the alternative would be to convert the club into a private company such as other clubs. That, in turn, would potentially control the control of the club of the members. Any change to the ownership model must be approved by a majority of votes from the members.