Real Madrid announce date for first presidential election in 20 years | OneFootball

For the first time since 2006, Real Madrid members will go to the polls to decide who they want to be the club’s president. Florentino Perez, who has held the post since 2009, called for an election to take place, and he will be up against Enrique Riquelme, whose candidacy was confirmed over the weekend.

On Tuesday, the Real Madrid electoral board convened with one clear goal: to outline a date for the election voting to be held. The plan has been for it to happen quickly so as not to delay the club’s business for too long, and an official statement has now confirmed that it will take place on Sunday 7th June.

“The Electoral Board approves that the voting will be held on June 7, 2026, between 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., uninterruptedly, at the Basketball Pavilion of the Real Madrid City, Avenida Alejandro de la Sota s/n – Madrid, where the corresponding polling stations will be installed. This information will be sent to all members included in the electoral roll.”

Perez is overwhelming favourite despite recent criticism

Perez’s decision to call for elections came after back-to-back seasons without a major trophy for Real Madrid. This led to strong protests during matches from the club’s supporters, who targeted the president himself, as well as heavyweights such as Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham.

Despite this, Perez is the overwhelming favourite to be re-elected as president in 12 days’ time. He has a lot of credit in the bank after overseeing one of the best Real Madrid periods in the club’s history, and it will be tricky for Riquelme, as the challenger, to convince the 79-year-old’s supporters.

In the event that Perez wins the election, it’s likely that he will move quickly to appoint Jose Mourinho as the next Real Madrid manager. An agreement has already been reached for the Portuguese to return to the Bernabeu 13 years after his first spell in charge, but due to the upcoming vote, his arrival has been put on hold.