Real Madrid Electoral Board Approves Pérez Candidacy, Exempts Him from Bank Guarantee

Real Madrid's Electoral Board has ratified the validity of Florentino Pérez's candidacy for club president, coupled with a notable decision to exempt him from providing the bank guarantee typically required of candidates by the internal regulations. This measure was based on Article 40-C-5 of the club's statutes, which has, however, raised legal questions due to the board not providing the explicit text of the article or precise economic data justifying this exception.

The stated reasons for the exemption referred to the aforementioned article, which governs successive guarantees during a term of office. Meanwhile, legal circles have circulated that Article 40-C-3, pertaining to pre-candidacy guarantees, does not contain any clause allowing for direct exemption. While Pérez was granted this waiver, his rival candidate, Enrique Riquelme, faced the requirement to provide a bank guarantee from his personal assets, creating a disparity in the application of legal standards between the candidacies submitted for the presidential position.

The club's regulations state that exemption conditions depend on achieving cumulative positive economic results equivalent to or exceeding 15% of the annual expenditure budget. However, the specific figures supporting this decision remain unclear as they have not been published in detail. On another note, the legal website IUSPORT reported that reforms to Spanish sports law in 2022 made financial guarantees optional for clubs not owned by public limited companies, which could provide new legal backing for the Real Madrid Electoral Board's approach.