Florentino Pérez's 10 mistakes at Real Madrid
From 2000 to 2021, with the exception of the three years of Ramón Calderón, Florentino Pérez has also made mistakes that have cost Real Madrid dearly. Cost overruns in transfers, sales without revenue, uncertain assemblies or the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Portuguese arrived at Real Madrid in 2009 and left in 2018. He scored 450 goals in 438 games. He lifted four Champions League titles and two La Liga titles. And he is the top scorer in the history of the white team. Ronaldo's problems with the tax authorities due to the mismanagement of his assets led him to ask Florentino for a pay rise. The manager refused and closed a sale to Juventus for 100 million euros. The player who had contributed the most to the club's coffers and trophy cabinet was leaving the club due to financial differences. Patches tripled the income: Hazard (115 million euros), Vinicius (45), Rodrygo (45), Mariano (22), Jovic (60) and Brahim (17).
On 2 December 2015 Real Madrid were knocked out of the Copa del Rey against Cádiz because they improperly fielded Denis Cheryshev at the Carranza. The Russian was suspended for a sending-off in his last Copa match with Villarreal. The club itself received a fax from a member alerting them to the player's situation. In 2017, the Central Court of Administrative Disputes number 5 of Madrid dismissed the appeal filed by Real Madrid with such harsh sentences as that it is "incomprehensible that a club like Real Madrid does not know which players it can or cannot field".
Zidane was coach of Castilla in 2014 although in the match reports he was listed as second and Santiago Sánchez as first. He was denounced by Cenafe Escuelas for coaching without the required qualifications. The RFEF imposed a sanction of three months without sitting on the Castilla bench as he did not have the Level 3 qualification required in Spain. The club appealed to the Sports Administrative Court (The CAD in Spanish) on the grounds that they were qualified by the French Football Federation, and won the appeal on the grounds of lack of evidence. A year later Zidane posed on his Instagram account with the Pro UEFA licence.
The arrival of the Portuguese coach in 2010 created the most important schism in the recent history of Madrid. A civil war with a high reputational cost. Florentino Pérez chose Mourinho because he had just won the Champions League with Inter and had eliminated Guardiola's Barça in the Champions League. Much noise and little football. Because Barcelona were already providing the football by winning titles in Spain and Europe. Mou balanced the media balance with uncomfortable press conferences, antagonising journalists, doubting Barça's Champions League chances and even physically attacking Tito Vilanova with that finger in the eye. Florentino let Mourinho do as he pleased. He was capable of publicly criticising players and the coach of Castilla himself, Alberto Toril, whom he kicked out of a training session. The refereeing complaints intensified and Real Madrid again blamed the referees for their defeats. Florentino caved in and agreed to leave the club with the Portuguese coach.
In 2004 Jorge Valdano stepped down as Real Madrid's sporting director. José Ángel Sánchez has been the general and sporting director since then. In 2000 he arrived at the club with Pérez as marketing director and, curiously, continued in the post during Ramón Calderón's tenure.
Florentino Pérez sacked Del Bosque because his booklet was outdated. In came Carlos Queiroz, Ferguson's deputy at United. One season later he was out. José Antonio Camacho did not get to start the 2004 season because his Real Madrid was no longer the Real Madrid he had known and he decided not to swallow some decisions. García Remón was a stopgap that season until Vanderlei Luxemburgo arrived. López Caro was chosen last before his departure. The coach who suffered the 2-1 defeat against Mallorca and who precipitated Pérez's departure.
In his second spell he made his debut with Manuel Pellegrini. A season later, the score and the lack of titles were not enough. Mourinho arrived to raise the decibels and prevent Guardiola's Barça goals from being heard. The attrition ended the idyll between Mourinho and Florentino. Carlo Ancelotti brought calm. And the first Champions League against Atlético. The second season in white precipitated his departure and the fans' anger.
Benítez's style was too demanding for the heavyweights. Pérez signed Lopetegui before the start of the World Cup in Russia. He was tactless with his timing and Rubiales' ego led to his sacking from the national team. A few months later he left Real Madrid. The intensity of his coaching was not well received in a team used to managing itself. Solari promoted from Castilla so as not to burn Raúl. The team did not improve and fell out with Isco. Florentino Pérez asked Zidane to return because he was the only coach in the world who could manage that group of players. Thirteen coaches.
James Rodríguez was Golden Boot winner at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The Colombian dazzled and Real Madrid paid 75 million euros to Monaco. He played 125 games in white with 37 goals. Three seasons later he went on loan to Bayern for two seasons where he played just 67 games and scored 15 goals. Real Madrid earned 13 million in total. In 2020 he was sold to Everton, according to Madrid, but the board of Banfield, his training club, revealed that this transfer was a free transfer and the English club did not pay any money.
Real Madrid paid 101 million euros for Gareth Bale. His 26 goals in the 12-13 season with Tottenham were his only endorsement. In 251 games he scored 105 goals and lifted four Champions League titles. Another amortised signing for the results. The reality is harsher: 101 games lost due to his 31 injuries in seven seasons. In other words, he spent three seasons as a blank slate. After the 2016 Champions League, Florentino renewed him until 2022 and increased his salary to 17 million euros. A recklessness that has led the club to take over a large part of his salary in his loan to Tottenham.
One of the biggest attacks on Florentino Pérez's membership. In 2014 Real Madrid took advantage of internal incidents between Ultras Sur supporters to evict them from the Bernabéu. Their violent past and their ideology were the excuse. The problem was that most of them were members and could not be freely expelled. The courts ruled in their favour and the club had to relocate them. In their place the Grada FANS was installed. A space subsidised by the club that does not convince members. The chanting is remote-controlled and bland, and the members are close to the presidency. Meanwhile, the former members of the Fondo Sur are still scattered around the stadium, for example, in the fourth amphitheatre of the Fondo Norte.
Real Madrid does not have a sporting management that defines the medium and long-term objectives of the team. The stars are expected to do their job on and off the pitch. The best and most highly paid players have to perform. This is a rollercoaster of feelings for the member of the club, who no sooner lifts the Champions League than he sees his team struggling in the league and crashing out of the Champions League. In the last few seasons, the club has been rushing to sign young players, many of them Brazilians. Florentino wants the future Neymar. And he is paying for it. Odegaard, Ceballos, Jovic, Reinier, Kubo and Brahim are on loan because they have not found a place in the first team. Lunin, Militao, Mendy, Odriozola, Vinicuis, Rodrygo and Asensio have not yet secured a starting place. The case of Mariano is curious. The home-grown striker returned to Real Madrid to prevent him from leaving for Sevilla.
Florentino Pérez was not up to the task with Keylor Navas. Another important player, but with a low media profile that the president did not like. The club opted for David De Gea and the deal was done. Manchester United would double Navas' salary and Florentino would have his goalkeeper. The club sent Keylor Navas to Barajas to wait for the fax from the English team. The hours passed and at 00:32 the papers arrived. More than half an hour late and LaLiga did not allow the signing of the Madrid goalkeeper. The signing was frustrated and Navas had to continue another year in white.
Florentino Pérez's relationship with the club's legends was never good. Fernando Hierro was sacked during the 2002-2003 league celebrations after a monumental brawl in the Txistu where the players threatened not to go to Cibeles. Redondo left in 2000 when Florentino became president. The 18 million euros paid by Milan were necessary for Figo's salary. The fans demonstrated at the gates of the Bernabéu demanding that their idol not be sold. Pérez wanted no trouble and pressed for the Argentinian to sign his exit first. The document was leaked to the press and the message remained for posterity that Redondo wanted to leave. Figo was let go. Pérez did not want to re-sign his contract and the Portuguese unveiled it on a pre-season tour of Asia. In 2005 he left the club and never again had a good relationship with the president. Raúl left Real Madrid quietly after the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo and Mourinho. He did not want to make trouble and the club terminated his contract so that he could leave for Schalke. The departure of Iker Casillas was a show that left both parties in a bad place. The economic negotiation was leaked to the media and at his farewell there was no one from the club to say goodbye to the best goalkeeper of all time. And Cristiano Ronaldo left by making it public at the Champions League celebrations in Cardiff. The relationship broke down over money and the club's top scorer also left through the back door.
Florentino Pérez has made other mistakes in his years as president. It is very difficult for the grassroots members to be members of the board of directors and this means that there is no criticism in the assemblies. Everything is approved with 98% of the votes in favour. The members who had their seats under the box also had to be placed in other areas because the club installed private spaces in that area. It has allowed money to be paid in exchange for the area remaining empty when matches have started because the occupants of the seats are still in the box, enjoying the catering.
Pérez's return to the club in 2009 was very murky. Media pressure on Ramón Calderón resulted in the 2012 conviction of El Mundo journalists Carlos Carbajosa and Jesús Alcaide for slander. Two professionals working in the club's communication department.
