Florentino Pérez

After nearly five years of confrontation, UEFA, European Football Clubs and Real Madrid announce an agreement in principle intended to resolve their Super League-related disputes. The text notably reaffirms sporting merit and the long-term sustainability of clubs.

State of the evidence

Settlement

Transformation of the Bernabéu into a multifunctional stadium generates several legal fronts: challenges to licences permitting concerts, residents' complaints about noise and annulment by the TSJM of the planned car park concession, notably over insufficient public interest and environmental issues. In June 2026, the Supreme Court refuses the club's appeal concerning the licences, leaving the merits to be reconsidered.

State of the evidence

Documented

At an exceptional press conference, Pérez denounces an alleged organised campaign by journalists against him and Real Madrid, names several media outlets and individuals, and makes remarks directed at female journalists that are widely denounced as sexist. In particular, he questions one journalist's football knowledge by emphasising that she is a woman and refers to another as 'that girl'.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Pérez publicly claims that Real Madrid has been the victim of a corrupt refereeing system, 'stolen' titles and other failings, notably in the context of the Negreira case. The Spanish Association of Football Referees refers the matter to the Competition Committee, seeking disciplinary proceedings and measures including cessation, redress and apologies.

State of the evidence

Allegations

Attribution

Personally implicated

Pérez calls an early election and faces Enrique Riquelme in Real Madrid's first genuinely contested presidential ballot in approximately twenty years. The campaign focuses notably on club governance and Pérez's controversial proposal to allow outside investors to acquire a minority stake, which his opponent describes as partial privatisation.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

A 2011 land agreement between Madrid City Council and Real Madrid triggers an EU state aid investigation. In 2016, the Commission finds overcompensation of approximately 18.4 million euros and orders recovery. The General Court of the European Union annuls that decision in 2019. Following reassessment, the Commission concludes on 26 August 2025 that the transaction did not constitute state aid after all.

In 2021, clandestine recordings dating back notably to 2006 reveal Pérez making extremely critical remarks about Real Madrid figures, including Raúl and Iker Casillas, as well as other players, coaches and journalists. The content triggers a major reputational and governance crisis.

Attribution

Protagonist is the complainant

In December 2023, the CJEU rules that former FIFA/UEFA rules allowing rival competitions to be blocked lacked transparent, objective and proportionate criteria. A Spanish court subsequently orders FIFA and UEFA in 2024 to cease certain anti-competitive practices. In 2025, Real Madrid announces plans to seek substantial damages.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

In the context of Gürtel and investigations into the Partido Popular's slush fund, Francisco Correa names ACS and Dragados among major companies that he alleges paid money to the party in exchange for public contracts. Documents presented by Luis Bárcenas are also used in public debate concerning ACS. ACS announces legal action against the allegations.

Pérez becomes the first president of the European Super League announced in April 2021 by twelve major clubs. The closed or semi-closed project provokes a massive backlash from supporters, governments, leagues and sporting bodies. Most founding clubs withdraw within days, causing the initial version to collapse.

Attribution

Directly implicated

The Castor gas storage project, operated by Escal UGS, 66.7% controlled by ACS, is halted after hundreds of earthquakes linked to gas injections. The government arranges compensation exceeding 1.35 billion euros, the legal mechanism of which is subsequently partially annulled by the Constitutional Court, while the costs trigger several disputes. In 2019, a judge refers Escal UGS and two of its executives for proceedings concerning an environmental offence.

State of the evidence

Documented

The 2012 statutory reform advanced under Pérez notably increases the membership tenure required to run for president from ten to twenty years and tightens bank guarantee requirements, secured against candidates' personal assets. Club members challenge the reform in court, arguing that it makes access to the presidency excessively restrictive and contributed to the absence of rival candidates.

Attribution

Directly implicated

Pérez is summoned in 2015 before a Balearic Parliament committee investigating the award of the Son Espases hospital, a contract worth approximately 635 million euros won in 2006 by a consortium including Dragados, an ACS subsidiary. The award subsequently becomes the subject of anti-corruption investigations targeting, among others, former public officials and Juan Miguel Villar Mir, in a case concerning an alleged attempt to manipulate the tender.

Pérez makes rezoning and selling the Ciudad Deportiva land a central pillar of his first term. The agreement with Madrid authorities enables the club to anticipate proceeds of several tens of billions of pesetas, clear debt of approximately 46 billion and finance Valdebebas. The transaction attracts political opposition from the PSOE and challenges concerning land use and compliance of the rezoning with planning legislation.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

During the Real Madrid presidential campaign, Pérez promises that Luís Figo, then under contract with FC Barcelona, will join Madrid if he wins. A pre-contract dated 1 July 2000, signed in the context of image rights, provides for a penalty of five billion pesetas in the event of non-performance. A campaign spokesperson had acknowledged that the mechanism could raise problems under FIFA rules prohibiting negotiations with a contracted player outside the authorised period.

State of the evidence

Documented