The polls for the Real Madrid presidency elections closed this Sunday in Valdebebas after a day marked by high turnout and anticipation for the first real electoral duel at the white club in two decades.
Real Madrid members voted between two club models: the continuity of Florentino Pérez, the current president, and the candidacy of Enrique Riquelme, an Alicante businessman who has proposed an alternative of institutional and sporting renewal.
Pending the official count, exit polls published during the afternoon place Florentino Pérez as the favorite to remain at the helm of Real Madrid. The latest update released by MARCA at 7:00 PM gives the current president 65.84% of the support, compared to 34.16% for Enrique Riquelme.
Florentino is the favorite according to polls
The polls published during the day indicate a clear lead for Florentino Pérez. The current president goes into the closing of the polls with a range of support that, according to estimates, is above 60%.
The latest data from MARCA before closing places Florentino at 65.84% and Riquelme at 34.16%. AS, for its part, had published another exit poll that also placed the president ahead, with 63% versus 37%.
The political reading within the club is twofold. Florentino appears as the favorite, but Riquelme achieves a sufficiently relevant percentage to show that there was a bloc of members in favor of opening a new era.
Riquelme holds on with significant support
Although the polls give the current president an advantage, the result attributed to Enrique Riquelme is not insignificant. In an election marked by the dominant figure of Florentino Pérez and after years without competition at the polls, exceeding around 30% in exit polls allows the alternative candidate to claim that he had a chance.
Riquelme has focused his campaign on the need to modernize the club, review its management model, and propose a project different from Florentino's cycle. His candidacy has forced the current president to become more involved in the campaign and has returned Real Madrid to an electoral scene not seen in twenty years.
The key now will be to see if the official count confirms the gap indicated by the polls or if postal votes and the last ballots modify the final distribution.
High turnout and last push in Valdebebas
The electoral day has also left an image of high mobilization. At 5:00 PM, 23,593 members had already voted, a very relevant figure before the final stretch of the afternoon.
In the last half hour before closing, there was a new surge in attendance in Valdebebas, with members who waited until the end to exercise their right to vote.
The historical record for participation in a Real Madrid election is 33,116 votes, corresponding to the elections in 2000. The data from this day indicated high participation, although we will have to wait for the final balance to see if it has approached that mark or not.
What happens now after the polls close
With the polls closed, the scrutiny of the votes cast by Real Madrid members begins. The count must include both in-person votes and those cast by mail, an element that could carry weight in the final result.
Exit polls indicate a trend, but they do not replace the official result. Therefore, the key data will arrive when the club's Electoral Board confirms the count and proclaims the winner.
The outcome will decide who presides over Real Madrid during a particularly delicate stage: the sporting future of the first team, the institutional management model, the role of the Santiago Bernabéu, and major market movements have been present throughout the campaign.
Historic elections for the white club
This Sunday's vote is not just another election. Real Madrid had not experienced elections with real competition for 20 years. During that time, Florentino Pérez had chained mandates without effective opposition at the polls.
Enrique Riquelme's entry into the race has broken that dynamic and turned the day into a test of strength for the current president. If the polls are confirmed, Florentino will remain at the helm of the club with a wide victory. If Riquelme's result remains around one-third of the votes, the businessman will have managed to establish visible internal opposition.
While awaiting the official scrutiny, the picture left by the polls is clear: Florentino Pérez goes into the closing as the favorite, but Real Madrid has truly voted again.