3 weeks ago
15
Madrid, Spain – Real Madrid fans were divided implicit plans announced this week by nine President Florentino Perez to let backstage equity investors to bargain up to a 10% involvement successful the club.
Some fans of “los merengues” said it would mean selling disconnected portion of the club, adjacent though Real Madrid remains the wealthiest shot nine successful the world.
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They besides noted that successful caller years, Real Madrid had already changed rank rules, contravening promises to support memberships wrong families and diluting its character.
Others supported the capitalist plan, saying it made bully concern consciousness and would not change the trajectory of a hugely palmy nine that has won the Spanish home rubric 36 times and collected a grounds 15 UEFA Champions League trophies.
Perez insisted that allowing backstage equity investors – who often deploy ample amounts of superior into companies not listed connected nationalist banal exchanges – to instrumentality a involvement successful the nine was an “indispensable project” for the aboriginal of football.
Speaking to nine members connected Sunday, Perez said helium volition suggest a statutory betterment during an bonzer assembly to let for the anticipation of extracurricular investors to instrumentality a number involvement successful the club, according to reporting by The Associated Press quality agency.
“We volition proceed to beryllium a members’ club, but we indispensable make a subsidiary successful which the 100,000 members of Real Madrid volition ever clasp implicit control,” helium said.
“On that basis, this subsidiary could simply incorporated a number stake, for example, 5% – ne'er much than 10% – from 1 oregon much investors committed to the precise agelong word and consenting to lend their ain resources.”
Perez said that would beryllium “the clearest and astir compelling mode to worth our club”.
The 78-year-old added that it would let the nine to wage dividends to nine members, which it is presently forbidden from doing.
Perez insisted investors would beryllium obliged to “respect our values”, lend to the maturation of the nine and “help america support our assets from outer attacks”.
He said Real Madrid could person the close to bargain its assets backmost from investors.
Perez reiterated respective times that members would ne'er suffer power of the club.
He said his connection would marque definite that the existent members are recognised arsenic the existent owners of the club, with the fig of members fixed for the future.
“With this extortion successful place, nary 1 volition beryllium capable to diminish our presumption arsenic owners oregon change the equilibrium that guarantees the independency and stableness of Real Madrid,” Perez said. “It volition beryllium us, the members of today, who volition person the work of safeguarding our civilization of values and ensuring that our nine continues to pb satellite shot for galore generations to come.”
The Real Madrid president further explained the betterment would “shield the nine from outer and interior attacks connected our assets, and to item their worth truthful that we are each alert of the treasure that we, arsenic members, person successful our hands”.
Perez, right, looks connected successful the stands earlier a Real Madrid lucifer [File: Michael Regan/Getty Images]Spanish nine ownership versus English
Real Madrid, similar Barcelona and a tiny fig of different Spanish shot clubs, is classed arsenic a nonprofit organisation arsenic it is owned by its nine members, oregon socios. Real Madrid, founded successful 1902, has lone ever had this ownership model.
This ownership operation prevents ample backstage investors from forging a bulk controlling involvement successful the clubs; it besides means they tin assertion taxation concessions.
This is contempt the information that Real Madrid was named the world’s wealthiest shot nine for the 4th consecutive twelvemonth successful 2025, with an estimated marketplace valuation of $6.75bn, according to the Forbes List. It was besides the archetypal nine to gain $1bn successful revenue.
The nonprofit presumption allows Spanish clubs to sphere immoderate traditions of their clubs and for members to instrumentality an progressive relation successful the organisations.
Graham Hunter, a British shot writer who specialises successful Spanish football, pointed to the illustration of Joan Laporta, the existent president of the different Spanish mega club, Barcelona.
“Laporta went from being a subordinate and a lawyer to being [club] president successful 7 years,” helium said.
In stark contrast, shot clubs successful England oregon the United States – Manchester United oregon Inter Miami being conscionable 2 examples – tin beryllium owned by individuals, corporations and successful immoderate instances, acquired connected nationalist banal exchanges, resulting successful much commercialised ownership structures.
It means their club’s performances are often centred connected much short-run processes similar nett maximisation, whereas successful Spain, the nine is successful the hands of fans – not ample backstage investors – allowing scope for longer-term concern strategies to beryllium enacted.
If Perez’s program goes ahead, this could unfastened the doorway for this celebrated Spanish nine to go much similar its overseas rivals.
The high-profile, multi-billionaire brag of Louis Vuitton, Bernard Arnault, was named successful Spanish media connected Monday arsenic a imaginable capitalist successful the club, should the caller number ownership rules beryllium adopted.
Real Madrid’s star-studded on-field lineup, led by cardinal forwards Kylian Mbappe, left, and Vinicius Jr, are pivotal to maintaining the organisation’s presumption arsenic the world’s wealthiest shot nine [File: Mahmud Hams/AFP]Fans reaction
Some Real Madrid fans did not stock Perez’s enthusiasm to unfastened up the nine to ample backstage investors.
David Garcia, a erstwhile play summons holder astatine the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, said Perez had antecedently told fans helium would sphere the nine for members.
“On Sunday, Florentino [Perez] misled the members again. He had told america that entree to the nine was restricted to the children oregon grandchildren of members to forestall a Russian oregon Chinese idiosyncratic from joining,” helium told Al Jazeera.
Garcia added that successful caller years, the rules of admittance to rank had been changed respective times, and Chinese and different foreigners had appeared connected rank lists.
Alejandro Dominguez, a erstwhile vice president of the Real Madrid Veterans Pena, questioned wherefore extracurricular investors were needed to boost the coffers of specified a profitable club.
“I don’t recognize wherefore we request much wealth erstwhile we are already the richest nine successful the world?” helium told Al Jazeera.
However, Fernando Valdez, a lifelong Real Madrid instrumentality who is portion of La Gran Familia supporters club, said helium believed the betterment would not harm the quality of the club.
“If we were selling disconnected immense chunks of the nine to rise wealth to vie with Paris Saint-Germain, past that would beryllium worrying, arsenic it would alteration the nine forever. But it is not similar that,” helium said.
“We request to cognize much details astir this, but connected the look of it, it does not look similar thing to interest about. Five percent oregon 10% is nothing.”
David Alvarez, who writes astir Real Madrid for El Pais newspaper, said Perez’s ownership program was not designed to vie with different high-spending clubs similar Manchester City.
“This volition let the nine to wage dividends to socios (club members). At present, the instrumentality stops them from doing that. They would person to merchantability a overmuch bigger involvement to beryllium capable to vie with the different large clubs successful Europe, truthful they are not trying to bash that.”
Unlike shot fans successful different countries, Real Madrid spectators often ain a tiny portion of their nine nether the ‘socios’ model, which has existed since 1902 [File: Juan Barbosa/Reuters]
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