OPEN THREAD — But At What Cost?: 8 Jun. 2026

· Yahoo Sports

MADRID, SPAIN - NOVEMBER 16: (L-R) Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida, Mayor of Madrid, Florentino Perez, President of Real Madrid and Isabel Diaz Ayuso, President of the Community of Madrid walk in the stadium prior to the NFL 2025 game between Washington Commanders and Miami Dolphins at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on November 16, 2025 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images) | Getty Images

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The Final Collection of Letters

“I hope one day these words find you.” — [censored]

Writer’s Prelude. This will likely be my last collection of letters to MM from this pulpit — not because I’m stepping down as a moderator (at least not yet…it’d be hard for me not to participate in a year long Jose Juninho DT) but because the format feels belabored and tiresome to me. Idk in some ways i think it helps me communicate with you all but also adds to my growing apathy towards this team…and boy have I been apathetic to our current circumstances. Nevertheless, as we continue on this journey together today marks the beginning well continuation of our next era.

To Whomever Will Understand,

The Elections. Florentino Perez is going to win this election. I say this now because as I’m writing he hasn’t been officially announced but all reports indicate that Florentino will likely win the election with a 66-67% lead over Enrique Riquelme’s 33-34%. The most pro-Florentinistas will likely project that this is a comfortable lead for the incumbent president to reassert his legendary strength and tenure over Real Madrid. It is a fact that Florentino Perez did win 60/60 voting tables. It is statistically correct that 66% is 2x the voters compared to Enrique Riquelme. It is also evident that Florentino is flexing his ability to sign a manager, two concrete “Here We Go” players, and now potentially making a Galactico signing and or bid which seems to be either Michael Olise, Joao Neves or Julian Alvarez. The old man may not be that old just yet and the next generation of leaders may have to still wait. But I’d like to challenge the positive framing of some of these assertions. I’d like to ask you all whether this is really the reawakening of Perez or simply a Pyrrhic Victory? Are there officially chinks in his armor?

A Pyrrhic Victory. A win is a win. But in the land of political theater and strategy, it often matters how you win and by how much. A landslide win reasserts an incumbent’s prowess to lead and galvanizes his/her base. A landslide fiercely approves that the voting public believes in a candidate’s policies. So when Enrique Riquelme (a relatively unknown candidate by most Madrid fans) with around 2-3 weeks of planning, a Sporting Director in Raul Gonzalez Blanco (who never visibly appeared to campaign on his behalf), half-baked promises or deliberate lies depending on where you stand, a promise to pursue Jurgen Klopp, and most importantly public denouncements of his promises is still able to galvanize nearly 35% of Real Madrid socios to vote on his behalf — that is actually a fucking problem.

Florentino Perez is by many the greatest president in Real Madrid history. If he isn’t first, he’s at the very least second. And potentially due to the past 2 trophyless seasons, the dismissal of two generally likeable managers, and a growing apathy to the same Galacticos that are central to his transfer policy — 33% of socios were willing to side with the idea of change.And I want to emphasize that Riquelme was not a real candidate by any means. A real candidate has a viable sporting project. A real candidate has some semblance and tactical awareness to not overpromise players or managers in a world where fast lies are quite quickly dismissed with hard truths. A real candidate isn’t improvising his policy and plan every 24 hours. Riquelme was just not Flo. That’s all. He wasn’t hope or a promise for even positive change. He was just an idea for change itself. A pushback on the status quo. An accountability measure. Riquelme at his foundational candidacy was simply “I am not Florentino Perez” so if you do not approve or want to continue with the current status quo — vote for me. Not my plan…because my plan doesn’t actually exist. And idk MM but to me and maybe secretly to Flo himself that’s concerning.

It’s concerning that our president Florentino Perez enacted a surprise election at the end of the season giving his opposition candidates only 2-3 weeks to prepare and Florentino didn’t win by one of the healthiest margins in history. Despite the very public embarrassing promises / lies by Riquelme, voters still disapproved of Florentino. And so I ask — what would have happened if Riquelme had 2-3 months to actually prepare (which was the similar amount of time Florentino had after Calderon resigned)? What would have happened if Florentino didn’t avoid a debate? What would have happened if Haaland and co had simply remained silent? If it was this close after avoidable mistakes ruined Enrique’s credibility, what would have the outcome been if his veracity and integrity could have been upehld?

Can we all in good conscious state that Flo would have still won?

At What Cost. But nevertheless, Florentino as we all predicted in May won the 2026 RM Elections…but at what cost?Potentially — Everything… Now, Florentino heads into this next era at Real Madrid with potentially more chinks in his armor than prior to the election. The restructuring of the Real Madrid CF socio system into shareholders and 5% asset sale is now a viable headline topic of discussion that will require a referendum and extensive debate. The position of the socios in the greater Real Madrid structure is a tenable question for these voters as the year progresses. A proposed 150M bid will be followed by most Madrid fans throughout the summer accompanied with questions about whether this Galactico policy is actually beneficial (especially if the player happens to be another forward). A formerly outdated manager in Jose Mourinho is now thrust into ensuring that we do not fall again into a trophyless season.

But most importantly as stated by the opposition “A section of the Real Madrid fanbase that had been dormant and had nowhere else to turn now has a voice.” And I’ll admit sometimes its good to visibly know who is your opposition and their strength. But sometimes it’s equally frightening to see your opposition finally comprehend how much power they hold — that they may not truly be as small as they once were.

Hopefully this all leads to positive internal change. Hopefully this is the awakening of Flo and a change in behavior. Hopefully this doesn’t harden him. In the end, hopefully we all win — whatever that means.

Cheers,

J

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