Real Madrid president Florentino Perez on Tuesday called for club elections and announced that he would contest again.
“I am not going to resign,” Perez told a press conference towards the end of a season in which Real Madrid will finish without a trophy.
Barcelona trounced Real Madrid 2-0 in the Clasico at Camp Nou on Sunday, securing back-to-back La Liga titles with three games remaining.
Madrid was eliminated from the Champions League after losing to Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals.
Real Madrid’s current coach, Alvaro Arbeloa, who succeeded Xabi Alonso in January, is unlikely to stay next season, while former Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has been linked with a comeback.
Madrid finished the season without a major prize for the second year in a row.
Fans have been protesting against star player Kylian Mbappe for a perceived lack of dedication, and there have been reports of many training ground clashes, including one that took midfielder Fede Valverde to the hospital.
Perez justified his push for a new term by citing an “absurd campaign” against Real Madrid.
“I’ve made this decision because an absurd situation has been created to generate a tide of opinion against the interests of Real Madrid,” argued Perez.
“I’ve been here 26 years, and it’s been a wonderful time.”
Perez took aim at media campaigns and other individuals, stating that they were using this season’s bad results to harm him specifically.
“I want to put an end to this anti-Madrid current that wants to destroy Real Madrid,” he said.
“I’m standing for re-election to return the club’s assets to its members.
“If anyone wants to run, they shouldn’t just pretend — let them run, but let them say what they’re going to do, how they’re going to finance everything.”
Perez noted: “They say out there that Real Madrid is a problem case, but it’s the most prestigious club in the world.”
However, he admitted that he was as frustrated as the rest of Madrid’s fans about the lack of trophies for the second consecutive year and also about the altercation between Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni.
“I think it is very bad, and I think it’s even worse that it was made public,” Perez said of the clash, which ended with both players being fined 500,000 euros.
Perez also stated that he and his backers were putting together a 500-page dossier that he will send to UEFA over allegations of corruption in Spanish refereeing.
“It’s the most serious case of corruption in football,” he said.
“I’ve only won seven Champions League titles and seven league titles, when I could have won 14 because the others were stolen from me.”
Barcelona is currently under investigation by Spanish authorities in a sports corruption case after paying the former vice president of Spain’s refereeing committee (CTA), Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, seven million euros ($8.3 million) over several years. The club denies any illegal activity.
