Enrique Riquelme (Cox, Alicante, 1989) took up the challenge from Florentino Pérez and entered the Real Madrid arena to run in the elections on June 7. His speech is forceful against what he considers a privatization project of the club by the current president.
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Negreira Case
“Barça has been lucky that I haven’t presided over Madrid these years”
Do you think Florentino Pérez did you a favor by introducing you to the general public in the famous press conference where he challenged you?
It depends on what for. For one’s professional life, no, but for this project it was one of the invitations, yes. That reference he made clearly put us in the ring.
Why are you running?
I perceive exhaustion in the club’s management and fear its privatization. We are running because of the risk that these might be the last Real Madrid elections.
The Coach
“Mourinho is not in my candidacy; ask Mr. Pérez about that”
Did it hurt you that some Spanish banks did not provide the guarantee to be a candidate?
It wasn’t entirely like that. We are aware of the capabilities of those we face but also I myself, as a businessman, have recently carried out projects where we had the support of all the banks in this country and the main ones worldwide. And not projects of 200 million but 8 billion dollars. I said from the beginning that the guarantee issue was solved.
If you become president, will you promote a change in the statutes so that more members can run?
I would like there to be more candidacies. We have to assess if that has been one of the symptoms explaining why there have been no elections in 20 years and also evaluate what changes must occur so that more members can run. People, of course, who are solvent.
How can the economy of clubs that are still owned by their members, like Barcelona or Madrid, be sustained without changing the model?
Real Madrid is the club with the highest income in the world. It has to continue being owned by its members because it can. What doesn’t add up is the excess of non-sporting general expenses. The number of people in different executive departments of the club earning more than a million makes no sense. Within Madrid, there are three times more non-sporting corporate staff than in the rest of the clubs in Europe.
Florentino obsessed over pushing forward the Super League. What is your opinion on that project?
It meant going against the world. This is a sports club that has to promote competition, a project where if you lose, you are relegated, and if you win, you move up, and if you are the best, you win the League and go to the Champions. This is what must be promoted. If what was wanted was to pressure to improve the conditions of the clubs, then you go and negotiate with UEFA. But what Florentino did was absurd going to take this project hand in hand with Laporta to El Chiringuito. The project was born dead.
Florentino’s main asset in 2000 was signing Figo. What will be your main asset?
I do not base the project solely on a signing from the sports side. This is a club that they want to snatch from the members to privatize it. Florentino tells the members that we are number one and that to prevent anyone from taking it, what must be done is privatize it. Listen, but who do you think you are fooling? That privatization attempt must be stopped. It seems like a big Chinese tale like the Super League. No one counted on the members to get us into the Super League. No one counted on anyone to support Barcelona! What is this about needing a strong Barça! And then there is the Negreira case, Barça will get away lightly after one of the biggest shames in world football because nothing was done at the right time.
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But on the sports level…
What I do say is that two world-class stars will come to Madrid. Because as a Madrid fan, it hurts me not to see any player from my team in the Spanish national team. If I am president, a player who has played the World Cup with Spain will come.
Is Madrid’s style to win or is the style Riquelme advocates a certain type of play?
I am not a coach.
But you must have your preferences, right?
Of course, to win and play well. But win.
Hard hand or coaches like Ancelotti with a more affable approach?
What there has to be is a structure and hierarchy, and everyone must know their place. I am not a fan of the hard hand, there just has to be discipline and hierarchy.
So, does Mourinho sound more like the past than the future to you?
Mourinho is not in my candidacy. Ask Mr. Pérez.
And how would you handle, for example, a fight between two players disciplinarily?
I would be very surprised if those kinds of things happened if there is structure and hierarchy.
You mentioned the Negreira case earlier, but beyond that, what kind of relationship should Madrid have with Barça?
It should be cordial, but not at any cost. Madrid should have acted from the first moment. If I had been president of Madrid, we wouldn’t have gotten along well because I would have gone with all the consequences. Barça has been lucky that I haven’t been president these years.
Barça’s women’s team is far superior to Madrid’s. If you win, will you open the doors of the Bernabéu to your women’s team?
In everything Madrid competes, it has to do it to be number one. I will boost the women’s team and open the doors of the Bernabéu. Barça will have a much harder time winning the League and Cups in Europe.
Florentino Pérez said he unsubscribed from Abc. Have you subscribed?
I was already a subscriber to Abc in Seville, but now I am also one of Abc in Madrid. I have asked everyone to subscribe to all the media in Spain, in the end, you have to support the media.
Many speak well of the press when they are candidates but when they are in charge, they don’t handle criticism so well. Do you tolerate criticism?
Healthy press is one of the powers of democracy. We are open to all kinds of constructive criticism.
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