Revealed: Why Florentino Perez lost his temper during Real Madrid defeat | OneFootball

Real Madrid had a very frustrating Sunday afternoon at the RiyadhAir Metropolitano, as they lost 2-1 to Atletico Madrid in the first Madrid derby of the season. Among those in attendance was president Florentino Perez, and while he was also displeased, it was largely due to something that had nothing to do the events that took place on the pitch.

Despite the rivalry that exists between Real Madrid and Atleti, Perez attended the match due to his good relationship with opposite number Enrique Cerezo. However, the cordial feelings quickly subsided when the 79-year-old was made aware that former presidential election rival Enrique Riquelme was in the directors’ boxes at the RiyadhAir Metropolitano, as revealed by Juanma Castano on El Partidazo de COPE (via Marca).

“At the lunch between directors in the anteroom before the match started, Florentino Pérez, who went to the Metropolitano because he has a very good relationship with Enrique Cerezo… And Miguel Ángel Gil Marin, who didn’t go to the Metropolitano, can’t even see him… When the meal was over, someone said to Florentino, ‘we are aware that Enrique Riquelme has been invited to the presidential box’.

“Florentino Perez gets angry and says that he is leaving, that he is leaving. Then he crosses paths with Riquelme at some point when he leaves the box. They calm him down, Florentino stays for the game… but he makes a big deal, asking what the point of Riquelme being in the presidential box is?”

Perez and Riquelme had bitter election race

Perez may have won the presidential election, which took place in June, but the race against Riquelme was far from cordial. It’s not unexpected that he would have reacted to strongly to being in the same area as his former rival, although the likelihood is that his anger would have been directed towards the officiating team by full time.