Florentino Pérez Rodríguez (; born 8 March 1947) is a Spanish businessman and the president of

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

, as well as chairman and CEO of Grupo ACS, a civil engineering company. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest club presidents of all time. Pérez began his professional career in the private sector in 1971 and was a member of the Spanish Union of the Democratic Center and the secretary-general of the Spanish Democratic Reformist Party, from 1979 to 1986. He has been president of Real Madrid from 2000 to 2006 and from 2009 onwards. During his first six years as president, he implemented the '' Galácticos'' policy of bringing the world's best players to Real Madrid. In his first four seasons in charge, he bought

Luís Figo Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo (; born 4 November 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a winger for Sporting CP, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Inter Milan. He won 127 caps for the Portugal national team, a one-t ...

from arch-rivals

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; ; ''Zineddin Lyazid Zidan''; ; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as an attacking midfi ...

for a then-world record transfer fee, Ronaldo, and

David Beckham Sir David Robert Joseph Beckham ( ; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Primarily a right winger and known for his range of passing, cross ...

. From the 2003–04 season to the 2005-06 season, the club did not win a trophy, leading Pérez to resign in 2006. He assumed office again in 2009 and he restarted the Galácticos policy. He brought

Kaká Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (; born 22 April 1982), commonly known as Kaká () or Ricardo Kaká, is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. In his prime at A.C. Milan, AC Mil ...

and

Xabi Alonso Xabier Alonso Olano (, ; born 25 November 1981) is a Spanish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the head coach of La Liga club Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid. He is regarded as o ...

to the club, as well as

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Saudi Pr ...

for a then-world record transfer fee, and

Karim Benzema Karim Mostafa Benzema (born 19 December 1987) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for and Captain (association football), captains Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad Clu ...

, a talented rising star from

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

. In domestic competitions, Real Madrid competed against a Barcelona team led by

Pep Guardiola Josep "Pep" Guardiola Sala (; born 18 January 1971) is a Catalans, Catalan professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player from Spain who has been the manager of club Manchester City F.C., Ma ...

and an

Atlético de Madrid Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

team led by Diego Simeone. The club was coached by managers such as

José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix (; born 26 January 1963) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of Süper Lig club Fenerba ...

Carlo Ancelotti Carlo Ancelotti (; born 10 June 1959) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of the Brazil national team. Nicknamed "Carletto" in Italy and "Don Carlo" in Spain, he is regarded as one of the greatest ...

, and

. Over the course of eleven seasons from 2013 to 2024, the club won six Champions League titles. Real Madrid has won a record 7 Champions League titles during his presidency. Pérez is the most successful president in the history of Real Madrid, winning 37 titles during his presidency, surpassing Santiago Bernabéu, who won 32.

Early career

Pérez attended the

Polytechnic University of Madrid The Technical University of Madrid or sometimes called Polytechnic University of Madrid (, UPM) is a public university, located in Madrid, Spain. It was founded in 1971 as the result of merging different Technical Schools of Engineering and Arc ...

. Pérez joined the Union of the Democratic Centre party in 1979, serving as a member of Madrid's city council. In 1986, Pérez ran as a candidate for the Democratic Reformist Party (''Partido Reformista Democrático'') and served as its secretary-general. In 1993, Pérez was named vice chairman of OCP Construcciones. After the merger of OCP with Gines y Navarro into Actividades de Construcción y Servicios, S.A. (ACS) in 1997, he became chairman of the new company. As of 2018, Pérez leads Grupo ACS, Spain's largest construction company, and has an estimated net worth of US$2.5 billion.

Real Madrid presidency

First term

In 1995, Pérez ran as a candidate for the presidency of Real Madrid against Ramón Mendoza and Santiago Gómez Pintado. Despite obtaining the highest number of signatures to endorse his candidacy, he came in second place. In 2000, Pérez again ran as a candidate for presidency of Real Madrid, which he won with more than 55% of the votes, beating the incumbent president at that time,

Lorenzo Sanz Lorenzo Sanz Mancebo (9 August 1943 – 21 March 2020) was a Spanish Businessperson, businessman who was the 14th List of Real Madrid CF presidents, President of Real Madrid and a former owner of Málaga CF, Málaga. Early life He was born in ...

. Sanz assumed that the recently won

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

s in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

and

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

would give him enough credit to win the elections, but Pérez's campaign, once again highlighting the financial problems of the club and claims of mismanagement by the previous boards, proved otherwise. Pérez's promise to bring in

from arch-rivals

also played a decisive role in the elections. Pérez was later re-elected in 2004 with 94.2% of the total votes. Figo also marked the start of Pérez's policy to bring one of the best football players in the world to

each season. The strategy was initially known as that of ''Zidanes y Pavones'' in which superstars would play alongside the ''Canteranos'', but the players were soon popularly referred to as '' Galácticos''. In 2001,

was signed from

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

for a then-world record transfer fee of €77.5 million. Zidane was followed up by Ronaldo in 2002,

in 2003,

Michael Owen Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker for Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid, Newcastle United ...

in 2004, and

Robinho Robson de Souza (; born 25 January 1984), known as Robinho (), is a Brazilian former professional association football, footballer and convicted rapist who played as a Forward (association football), forward. In 1997, at 12 years of age, Robin ...

for a short time in 2005. Initially, Pérez's policy worked to great success, as each new ''Galáctico'' had the squad built around them, and the team had a good balance between attack and defence. In his first years in office, Real Madrid won two Spanish championships and its record ninth

. Pérez claimed success in clearing the club's debt; however, this was contradicted by director

Ramón Calderón José Ramón Calderón Ramos (born 26 May 1951) is a Spanish lawyer who is the former President of Real Madrid.Fernando Hierro stated that

Claude Makélélé Claude Makélélé Sinda (born 18 February 1973) is a French Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, professional player who played as a defensive midfielder. He last managed Super League Greece club Astera ...

had been the club's most important and least appreciated midfielder, saying: "The loss of Makélélé was the beginning of the end for ''Los Galácticos''... You can see that it was also the beginning of a new dawn for Chelsea." From the 2003–04 season to the 2005-06 season with the absence of manager Vicente del Bosque and Makélélé, Real Madrid failed to win a trophy. Although Pérez's policy resulted in increased financial success based on the exploitation of the club's high marketing potential around the world, especially in Asia, it came under increasing criticism for being focused too much on marketing the Real Madrid brand and not enough on the club’s football. He announced his resignation on 27 February 2006, acknowledging that the team and the club as a whole needed a new direction.

Second term

On 14 May 2009, Pérez announced his candidacy for president of Real Madrid in a press conference at the Hotel Ritz Madrid. On 1 June, given that he was the only candidate able to provide the €57,389,000 guarantee necessary to run for the presidency, Pérez was announced as the new president of Real Madrid. In his second term, Pérez continued with the ''Galácticos'' policy pursued during his first term. On 8 June, he bought

from

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

for just under £60 million, while on 11 June,

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

accepted an £80 million offer for

, which would once again break the world record. On 25 June, Pérez and Real Madrid announced the signing of

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

centre-back

Raúl Albiol Raúl Albiol Tortajada (born 4 September 1985) is a Spanish professional association football, footballer who plays as a central defender. He spent most of his career with Valencia CF, Valencia, Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid and Villarreal CF, Vi ...

for €15 million. On 1 July, Pérez bought

from

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

for a fee of at least £30 million, which would increase to £35 million depending on the player's success. On 5 August, Real Madrid confirmed the signing of

from

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

for £30 million; Alonso became the second Liverpool player to join Real Madrid in the same transfer window after full-back Álvaro Arbeloa's £5 million switch to the Santiago Bernabéu in July. On 31 May 2010, Pérez appointed

as the new manager of Real Madrid in a £6.8 million deal. During the next three years, Pérez brought a lot of new faces to the team, including the German wonderkid

Mesut Özil Mesut Özil (, ; born 15 October 1988) is a German former professional association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Known for his ball control, technical skills, creativity, passing skills, and vision, he is widely re ...

and Ángel Di María, who both attracted attention from Europe's elite football clubs during the

2010 World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

in South Africa. The squad managed to break Barcelona's dominance, winning the in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and winning the La Liga title in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

with a record-breaking 100 points. Additionally, in

, Real Madrid reached the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time since

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

. In his third season, Mourinho led the team to its third consecutive Champions League semi-finals, second place in the league, and the Copa del Rey final, where Real lost to Atlético after extra time. However, the lack of trophies prompted Mourinho to leave Madrid for his former club Chelsea. On 2 June 2013, Pérez was awarded a fourth term as the Real Madrid president, bringing in

to replace Mourinho. Mesut Özil and Gonzalo Higuaín were sold to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and

Napoli Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...

, respectively, at the start of the season to secure spots for

Luka Modrić Luka Modrić (; born 9 September 1985) is a Croatian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder and Captain (association football), captains both La Liga club Real Madrid and the Croatia national football team, Cro ...

and Karim Benzema in the first team. Pérez also brought in Welsh footballer and PFA Player of the Year

Gareth Bale Gareth Frank Bale (born 16 July 1989) is a Welsh former professional Association football, footballer who played as a right winger, most notably for Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid, and the Wales national ...

, purchased from

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

for a fee reported to be in the £86 million range, yet again breaking the world record. Two promising Spanish talents, playmaker Isco and holding midfielder Asier Illarramendi, were also bought by Pérez prior to the start of the season. The following season proved to be a resounding success, as Real Madrid won the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

and its tenth Champions League title. During the 2014 summer transfer window, Pérez brought in

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

stars

James Rodríguez James David Rodríguez Rubio (born 12 July 1991) is a Colombian professional Association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or Winger (association football), winger for Liga MX club Club León, León and Captain (associ ...

Toni Kroos Toni Kroos (born 4 January 1990) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, he was known for his vision, pinpoint precision passing, crossing, and set-p ...

, and Keylor Navas to Real Madrid for a combined cost of £95 million, as well as

Javier Hernández Javier Hernández Balcázar (; born 1 June 1988), commonly known by the nickname Chicharito (, Mexican Spanish: ''little pea''), is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a striker for Liga MX club Guadalajara. He is known for his c ...

, who was loan from Manchester United. As a result of the mounting competition for starting spots and wage disputes, Di María left the club for Manchester United for a British record transfer fee of £60 million.

also left during this transfer window to join

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

. In January 2015, Pérez demonstrated his success in the transfer market when Real Madrid signed the 16-year-old Norwegian Martin Ødegaard, as many other European clubs, including Bayern, Barcelona, and Arsenal, were also interested in Ødegaard. Later on, Real Madrid, coached by former player Frenchman Zinedine Zidane, proceeded to win three consecutive Champions League titles in 2015–16, 2016–17 and 2017–18, a feat that hasn’t been achieved since Bayern Munich had won their third consecutive title in 1975–76. In 2019, Pérez revealed the plans to renovate the

Santiago Bernabéu Stadium Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (, ) is a retractable roof association football, football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a seating capacity of around 83,000 following its extensive renovation completed in late 2024, the stadium has the second-largest ...

. In the 2019–20 season, Real Madrid won their 34th

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

title, which was their fifth title under Pérez and second title under coach Zidane. In the 2021–22 season, Real Madrid won their sixth

and sixth Champions League title under Pérez, and he equalled the Champions League record of Santiago Bernabéu. In the 2021–22 season, with the return of

as coach, Real Madrid achieved a historic double: winning the La Liga title and winning its 14th Champions League, totaling 35 league titles. In addition, Real Madrid won its fifth European Super Cup. In the same year, Real Madrid Club de Baloncesto won the ACB League and the Spanish Super Cup. In the 2022–23 season, Real Madrid won the final of the Copa del Rey at La Cartuja in Seville, obtaining its twentieth title after nine years without winning the trophy. The team also reached the semifinals of the Champions League where it was eliminated by

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

, and finished second place in La Liga behind Barcelona, despite maintaining a larger points difference. At the same time, Real Madrid was crowned champion of the Euroleague Basketball League in the same season, thus winning its eleventh title in this continental competition. Currently, Pérez simultaneously holds the role of president of the renowned Real Madrid. His relationship with the club, considered the best of the 20th century, has materialized in two periods in which he has managed to harmonize his business work with the management of the football institution. During his tenure as president of Real Madrid, Pérez has established a legacy characterized by consistently high economic revenues. The club has maintained its position as the global leader in current revenue for over ten consecutive years. Additionally, Pérez's management has had a notable impact on the sporting front, with Real Madrid winning the prestigious European Cup seven times, adding to a total of fifteen trophies in the club's collection. Additionally, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' has recognized Real Madrid as the most valuable sports club in the world, with ''Los Blancos'' having a value of US$6.07 billion. In the 2023–24 season, Real Madrid clinched their 36th La Liga title in total and seventh Champions League title during his presidency, surpassing Santiago Bernabéu's Champions League record. In January 2025, Pérez was re-elected as club's president until 2029.

European Super League

In April 2021, Pérez was named the first chairman of the Super League, a breakaway league involving some of Europe's largest football clubs. According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', Pérez "had been the driving force behind much of it; it was, to some extent, his brainchild." Spearheaded by Pérez and

Andrea Agnelli Andrea Agnelli (; born 6 December 1975) is an Italian businessman. From May 2010 to November 2022, Agnelli served as chairman of Italian association football club Juventus, which returned to Italian football dominance throughout the 2010s with ...

, the Super League was in the works for three years; however, the final phases were rushed and the allegiance among the twelve clubs, instead of the original fifteen, seemed to have been forged under pressure. The announcement was poorly planned and the coalition, liable to break under pressure, came apart quickly. Pérez expressed hope that the new competition would "provide higher-quality matches and additional financial resources for the overall football pyramid", provide "significantly greater economic growth and support for European football via a long-term commitment to uncapped solidarity payments which will grow in line with league revenues", appeal to a new younger generation of football fans, and improve VAR and refereeing. The 18 April announcement of the European Super League (ESL) received almost universal opposition from fans, players, managers, politicians and other clubs as well as UEFA, FIFA and national governments. Much of the criticism against the ESL was due to concerns about

elitism Elitism is the notion that individuals who form an elite — a select group with desirable qualities such as intellect, wealth, power, physical attractiveness, notability, special skills, experience, lineage — are more likely to be construc ...

and the lack of competitiveness within the competition, as it would have consisted of only high-ranking teams from a few European countries. Backlash against the announcement of the league's formation led to nine of the clubs involved, including all six of the English clubs, announcing their intention to withdraw. The remaining members of the ESL subsequently announced they would "reconsider the most appropriate steps to reshape the project" following the departure of the other clubs. Three days after its founding, the ESL announced that it was suspending its operations. Commentators argued that the ESL could render domestic competitions as irrelevant and lower tier compared to the Super League, and it would undermine

promotion and relegation Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

systems; Pérez later countered this with claims that the ESL would have a system of promotion and relegation. Pérez alleged that Bayern Munich,

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

, and

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

, which were reportedly sought out by the ESL and gave them between 14 and 30 days to join but who rejected involvement in the competition and publicly condemned the concept, had not been invited. Pérez cited the European basketball

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

as an inspiration and stated that the EuroLeague saved European basketball, and the Super League would do the same for football. After the backlash and withdrawals, Pérez stated that none of the founding clubs had officially left the association, as they were tied to binding contracts, and vowed to work with the governing bodies to make some form of the Super League work. Whilst blaming the English clubs of losing their nerve in face of opposition and the footballing authorities for acting unjustifiably aggressively, Pérez insisted that the Super League project was merely on standby and not over. In response to UEFA's sanctions and possible Real Madrid's exclusion from

UEFA competitions UEFA competitions (), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur association football and futsal. Th ...

, among the other clubs involved, Pérez said that this would be "impossible" and that the law protects them. On 31 May, the Super League filed a complaint to the

Court of Justice of the European Union The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ( or "''CJUE''"; Latin: Curia) is the Judiciary, judicial branch of the European Union (EU). Seated in the Kirchberg, Luxembourg, Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, this EU ins ...

(CJEU) against UEFA and

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

for their proposals to stop the organization of the competition. On June 7, the Swiss

Federal Department of Justice and Police The Federal Department of Justice and Police (, , , ) is one of the seven Ministry (government department), departments of the Switzerland, Swiss federal government, and is equivalent to a ministry of justice in other countries. As of 2024, it ...

notified the Spanish precautionary measure, which had earlier issued an

injunction An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable rem ...

against UEFA and FIFA, and referred a ''cuestión preliminar'' (English: preliminary question) to the CJEU on whether UEFA and FIFA have violated articles 101 and 102 of the TFEU, to both governing bodies, ruling them to not execute sanctions against clubs still active in the project, including Real Madrid. On 15 June, it was officially confirmed Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Juventus were admitted to the

2021–22 UEFA Champions League The 2021–22 UEFA Champions League was the 67th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 30th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Real Madrid de ...

. On 31 January 2014 Pérez announced the winning project of the competition to design the new Santiago Bernabéu. The new stadium is enveloped by a roof with an LED system that vibrates and allows the stadium to communicate with its surroundings and the eastern façade features a giant screen to show the inside of the stadium at special moments. This sustainable project is also equipped with the latest technological advances, making it safer and more comfortable for fans. The new Bernabéu is also planned to include commercial, leisure, and restaurant areas as well as hotel parking and subway parking; the works are designed to allow construction to take place without disrupting the sporting calendar. In July 2021, the media ''

El Confidencial ''El Confidencial'' is a Spanish-language general-information digital newspaper located in Spain, specializing in economic, financial and political news. It was established as an online newspaper in 2001. Its target readership is professional ...

'' published audio of Pérez in which he included a series of remarks towards some players. However, Real Madrid had issued a statement claiming that the leaks came at a time when Pérez was involved in promoting the Super League. At a later date, the court of first instance number 42 of Madrid considered that Florentino Pérez's right to honour was violated by broadcasting the recordings and prohibiting the media from publishing any audio that directly affects him. In 2022, an unauthorized biography titled ''El poder del palco'' was published about Pérez, in which the Spanish journalist Fonsi Loaiza explores the role of the Santiago Bernabeu VIP area in Pérez's business success, highlighting his network of connections. At the first home game of the 2023–24 season, against

Getafe Getafe () is a municipalities in Spain, municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city c ...

, the new renovations of the Santiago Bernabéu, including the

retractable roof A retractable roof is a roof system designed to roll back the roof of a structure so that the interior of the facility is open to the outdoors. Retractable roofs are sometimes referred to as operable roofs or retractable skylights. The term o ...

, were unveiled for the first time. Although work on the new stadium was expected to be completed in 2024, the final cost is estimated at around €1.17 billion, more than double the initial estimate (€525 million). However, Florentino Pérez emphasized that the new stadium will become one of the city's main tourist destinations and the epicenter of major events in Europe. During December 2023, the

(CJEU) ruled that

and

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

's rules on the prior authorization of club soccer competitions, such as the Super League, violate EU law. The court stated that UEFA and FIFA abused their "dominant position" by threatening the clubs involved in the Super League with sanctions. This affected several clubs, such as the Real Madrid, which backed the project in Spain along with other well-known clubs.

Personal life

Pérez married María de los Ángeles Sandoval Montero in 1970 and they had 3 kids: Eduardo, Florentino, and María Ángeles. His wife died on 23 May 2012, aged 62, due to a heart attack. During the

COVID-19 pandemic in Spain The COVID-19 pandemic in Spain has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The virus was first confirmed to have spread to Spain on 31 January 2020, when a German tourist tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in La Gomera, Canary Island ...

, Pérez tested positive on 2 February 2021, but had no symptoms.

Honours

*Football: **

: 2000–01, 2002–03, 2011–12, 2016–17, 2019–20, 2021–22, 2023–24 **

: 2010–11, 2013–14, 2022–23 **

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

: 2001–02, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2021–22, 2023–24 **

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

** Intercontinental Cup:

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The compe ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

FIFA Intercontinental Cup The FIFA Intercontinental Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by FIFA, the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The first edition took place in 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup, 2024. The co ...

*Basketball: **

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

: 2004–05, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2021–22, 2023–24 **

Copa del Rey de Baloncesto The Copa del Rey de Baloncesto ( English: ''Basketball King's Cup'') is an annual cup competition for Spanish basketball teams organized by Spain's top professional league, the Liga ACB. History Originally known as the ''Copa de España de Bal ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Supercopa de España de Baloncesto The Supercopa de España de Baloncesto ( English: ''Spanish Basketball Supercup'') is a Spanish annual men's professional basketball competition. The competition is a super cup tournament. History The Supercopa was created in 1984 by the recen ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

: 2014–15, 2017–18, 2022–23 **

FIBA Intercontinental Cup The FIBA Intercontinental Cup, previously known to as the FIBA World Cup for Champion Clubs and the FIBA Club World Cup, is an annual international men's basketball competition organised by FIBA, the sport's global governing body. The competit ...

Awards

Grand Cross of the Order of the Second of May (2011) * Golden Foot Prestige: 2022 * Special Career Award: 2024

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Florentino 1947 births Living people Businesspeople from Madrid Spanish billionaires Polytechnic University of Madrid alumni Madrid city councillors (1979–1983) Union of the Democratic Centre (Spain) politicians Real Madrid CF presidents Spanish civil engineers 20th-century Spanish businesspeople 21st-century Spanish businesspeople