Florentino Perez has pledged to make a club record offer for an unnamed “great player” if re-elected as Real Madrid president on Sunday.
He stated that he would offer “about 150 million euros” (£130 million) for an attacking player but not Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane, Michael Olise, or Manchester City’s Jeremy Doku.
Perez, 79, also ruled out signing Erling Haaland, as promised by election contender Enrique Riquelme earlier in the week.
Manchester City, Haaland’s club, has since said that such a trade has “no chance” of happening and has threatened Riquelme with legal action.
Real Madrid is owned entirely by members who decide its president. Each pays an annual fee of around £130, and nearly 100,000 of them will vote on Sunday.
Following his first election in 2000, Perez pursued a ‘Galacticos’ policy of signing expensive world-class players, including Luis Figo, David Beckham, and Zinedine Zidane.
Real Madrid won two La Liga titles and a Champions League before Perez resigned in 2006 amid disappointing results.
In 2009, he successfully stood for the presidency again unopposed and has done so a further four times in his 17-year second term.
Real Madrid finished the 2025-26 season without a major trophy for the second consecutive season, trailing La Liga champions Barcelona by eight points.
As the season came to an end, Perez held a press conference in which he railed at the club’s detractors and invited those dissatisfied with his leadership to run against him for president.
Riquelme, a renewable energy magnate, stepped forward, forcing Perez to compete with another candidate to keep his position for the first time in 20 years.
On Wednesday, Perez assured supporters that he will launch a Galacticos-style transfer effort days after seeking re-election.
“I have some news for you,” he told Spanish TV show Horizonte.
“On Tuesday or so, I’m going to make an offer to a major Champions League club for a great player. It would be the largest transfer fee Real Madrid has ever paid in its history.”
Perez was asked the identity of his target and the scale of the fee.
“Olise is a great player, but it’s not Olise,” Perez said. “It’s not Doku either.
“We’re going to make a significant offer, at least around 150m.
“He needs to be a player from midfield who can go forward. And it’s not Haaland.
“The player is not from the Premier League. And the first thing we’ll do is talk to the club.
“It’s a signing meant to generate excitement because that’s what it’s all about, generating excitement.”
He also informed voters his re-election would activate already-agreed deals for manager Jose Mourinho, Inter Milan defender Denzel Dumfries, and Ibrahima Konate, whose contract at Liverpool won’t be renewed.
