Enrique Riquelme

Enrique Riquelme (born 9 January 1989) is a Spanish businessman. He is the founder of COX Energy, a company in the renewable energy field. In 2026, he announced his candidacy for the Real Madrid Presidential Elections against current president Florentino Pérez.[1][2] He was born in Cox, Alicante.

Real Madrid presidential candidacy

Riquelme announced his candidacy to run for President of Real Madrid on 21 May 2026[3] following current president Florentino Pérez's call for new board of directors elections. This was following a trophy-less season which saw the departure of manager Xabi Alonso midway through January and the appointment of Real Madrid Castilla manager Álvaro Arbeloa.[4] This was the first contested Real Madrid presidential election since 2006 with incumbent president Pérez being unopposed in the last five electoral cycles.[5][6]

During a television appearance on 3 June, Riquelme presented a Real Madrid jersey which bore the last name of Erling Haaland on the back with Riquelme claiming that the Norwegian striker would join the club if he were elected president.[7] Riquelme further claimed that Haaland expressed desire to play for Real Madrid and had a release clause available despite his current contract tying him with Manchester City through 2034.[8] Both Haaland's father Alfie and his agent Rafaela Pimenta have denied the claims alongside Manchester City who expressed consideration for legal action.[9]

Riquelme revealed that Raúl would assume the position of Sporting Director, and Fernando Hierro would become Director of the Real Madrid academy, La Fábrica. On 5 June, Riquelme pledged to bring the German coach Jürgen Klopp, who he believes suits Real's status and ambitions.[10]

Riquelme would go on to lose the election against Pérez receiving 11,814 votes representing 35% of the total.[11] Enrique conceded the loss and congratulated Pérez while affirming that Real shall not remain anymore 20 years without elections.[12] He requested that the members be responsible for taking decisions and all matters connected to the club.[13]

References

  1. ↑ Cortegana, Mario; Rai, Guillermo (26 May 2026). "Enrique Riquelme interview on his Real Madrid: 'A new manager, and two signings already agreed'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  2. ↑ "Real Madrid: Enrique Riquelme outlines plans as he launches presidential campaign". BBC Sport. 27 May 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  3. ↑ Barlow, Ruairidh (2026-05-21). "Real Madrid elections on: Florentino Perez rival to run". Football España. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  4. ↑ Daily, The Chosun (2026-05-25). "Real Madrid Concludes Troubled Season Without Trophies". The Chosun Daily. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  5. ↑ Leveridge, Sam. "The Ultimate Guide To Real Madrid's 2026 Presidential Election". Forbes. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  6. ↑ "Real Madrid to hold 1st presidential election in 20 years". www.espn.com. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  7. ↑ "Erling Haaland: Man City threaten legal action over Real Madrid candidate's transfer claim". BBC Sport. 2026-06-04. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  8. ↑ Ornstein, David (2025-01-22). "Erling Haaland signs new nine-and-a-half-year Manchester City contract". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  9. ↑ Jackson, Jamie (2026-06-04). "Manchester City threaten to sue Real Madrid presidential hopeful over Haaland". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  10. ↑ Onyeagwara, Nnamdi; Cortegana, Mario (2026-06-05). "Enrique Riquelme says he will ask Jurgen Klopp to 'lead' Real Madrid if he wins election". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-06-13.
  11. ↑ "REAL MADRID C.F. - ERROR". www.realmadrid.com. Retrieved 2026-06-13.
  12. ↑ "Perez wins Real Madrid vote to extend reign after rare election challenge". EgyptToday. 2026-06-08. Retrieved 2026-06-13.
  13. ↑ read, Madrid Universal·2 min (2026-06-08). "'We have stopped the sale of the club' – Enrique Riquelme refuses to give up after losing Real Madrid presidency race". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 2026-06-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.