Real Madrid legend show support for Florentino Perez ahead of presidential elections | OneFootball

Florentino Perez is Real Madrid’s most successful president by some distance and has almost become synonymous with the institution at this point.

For close to two decades, his position as club president was completely unchallenged and the club never went into a full-blown election where a candidate stood up to fight him for the crown position.

Now, however, that cycle has come to an end with Enrique Riquelme stepping up as an able competitor. His candidacy has been approved, and Real Madrid will have their first presidential elections since 2006 in the first week of June.

Florentino Perez faces competition from Enrique Riquelme. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

A legend extends his support

At this point in the electoral process, both candidates are working hard to propagate their manifestos and make an impression on the club members who will vote. Backing from club legends, on that front, goes a long way.

Karim Benzema, in that sense, has come out to hand Perez a massive boost by taking to his social media with an unexpected update – one that will be well received by Perez and his supporters.

The former Real Madrid striker took to his Instagram account to post a picture with Perez taken at the time when he won the Ballon d’Or – the same moment that marks the pinnacle of his career.

Putting up a photo of that moment with Perez, at such an opportune moment, will only serve as a reinforcement to the memory of all voters of what heights the club has reached under Perez’s presidency.

A sense of gratitude

Having been the president of the club for decades now, Perez is the chief architect behind so many of Real Madrid’s successes. Benzema, needless to say, is also a direct product of the former president’s planning for the club.

It was back in 2009 that Perez decided to sign Benzema, and while the player took his time to adapt, he went on to become one of the club’s leading goalscorers and legends.

With such key figures in the club’s history coming out to openly back Perez, Riquelme’s task as a challenger only grows more difficult.

After all, all that Perez has to do is remind voters of successes that have already been enjoyed while Riquelme has a more difficult mission of selling a theoretical project.