‘It would make me happy’ – Enrique Riquelme says he would like Barcelona to ‘disappear’ | OneFootball

As the Real Madrid presidential election campaign enters its decisive phase, candidate Enrique Riquelme is continuing to outline the principles that would define his leadership if elected.

Appearing on Jordi Wild’s popular YouTube podcast, ‘The Wild Project’, Riquelme spoke extensively about his vision for the future of Real Madrid, the club’s competitive mentality and the standards he believes should drive every decision made at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Throughout the interview, the businessman stressed that his priority is to ensure that Real Madrid remain the dominant force in world football.

A winning-first mentality or arrogance?

One of the strongest messages from the interview centred on Riquelme’s belief that every decision at Real Madrid should be focused on helping the club win as much as possible, even if it disregards Barcelona.

Discussing his mentality as a lifelong Madridista, he said, “I want to see Barcelona in the Second Division. I’d love that. 

Riquelme wants Barcelona in the second division. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

“I wouldn’t have a problem with it, and it would make me happy. And that’s not meant to be disrespectful. I’d also like to see Barcelona disappear. I wouldn’t have a problem with that.”

While the comments immediately attracted attention, Riquelme later clarified that his primary focus remains Real Madrid rather than any rival.

“Barcelona is part of football history, but I want Real Madrid to win, and only Madrid. Whatever the others do…”

There is more

It must be noted that Riquelme has repeatedly argued throughout his campaign that the club should adopt a more aggressive approach when pursuing its objectives, both on and off the pitch.

At its core, Riquelme’s campaign has been built around the idea of putting Real Madrid first in every scenario.

Riquelme has talked about Perez’s helping hand towards Barcelona. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Whether discussing sporting decisions, transfer policy or club governance, the candidate has consistently presented himself as someone determined to prioritise the institution’s interests above all else.

Hence, it did not come as any surprise when he criticised Florentino Perez for helping Barcelona.

“At every party when they were down and out – If I’d been there, I can assure you that not only would I not have helped, but I wouldn’t even have offered a hand. 

“It’s healthy competition, but if you’ve competed in a way where you’ve used money to pay the vice-president of the referees,” he concluded.