Florentino Perez, the man who wants to dynamise European football
Audio 04:39
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.
© Franck Fife / AFP
By: Bruno Faure Follow
10 mins
President of Real Madrid for 21 years, Florentino Perez has built an empire from his construction company which has become an international giant.
With a daring strategy, he made the Spanish club a recognized brand.
Today he is launching an uncertain fight against the authorities of football.
Publicity
“I am acting for the good of football. I want to save football. We are at a critical moment ”
. Those few words said by Florentino Perez on the hit Spanish TV show “El Chiringuito” surely weren't going to go unnoticed. In the midst of the controversy over the Super League project, a kind of mini-championship reserved for a few of the richest clubs in Europe, the irremovable president of Real Madrid drew the wrath of many Internet users against this competition deemed contrary to principle so often brandished: the glorious uncertainty of sport. Not enough to disconcert this 74-year-old businessman broken in the most tense negotiations, many times the target of demonstrations demanding his resignation. Juan José Dorado, a Spanish journalist who has been following Real Madrid's news for a long time, predicts a long and fierce struggle:
“I don't think he's going to give up on this Super League project, which isn't such a new concept when you think back to the G14.
He is convinced that this is the only solution for the clubs, very affected economically by the pandemic, if they want to keep the show in the best conditions.
Via
the European Union,
via
the courts, the battle is not over with UEFA, whose monopoly Florentino Perez wants to break.
"
International strategy
This unwavering confidence of the boss of the "
white house
" (nickname of Real Madrid, the most successful of European clubs) is illustrated by his career, first in politics (without much success), but especially in the world of company where he launched headlong into. ACS (Actividades de Construcción y Servicios), the construction group that made him a billionaire, has around 200,000 employees worldwide.
"He is someone very rigorous, quite thoughtful"
, explains Juan José Dorado.
“He has a sharp perception of the economy. Very quickly, he decided to launch his own company which is today one of the leaders in its sector ”
. Florentino Perez, road engineer, made the right choices at the right times. In 2001, at the time of the real estate frenzy in Spain, he won huge public contracts: highways, rail lines, the renovation of the Prado museum ... The name of Florentino Perez and that of his group ACS are nevertheless cited in corruption cases. In 2008, he did better than resist the subprime
crisis
which will hit Spain hard.
ACS is establishing itself in other international markets, particularly in the Middle East.
In Qatar, he was awarded major infrastructure projects.
He is in contact with Sheikh Tamim Al-Thani.
Several media evoke a big contract with Saudi Arabia.
The company also withdrew in 2020 from the Inga III hydroelectric dam megaproject in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the cost of which is estimated at $ 14 billion.
The Galacticos bet
This ambition and this international strategy, Florentino Perez has also applied in his other field of activity born from a childhood dream: football. Upon his arrival at the head of the club in July 2000, he launched a concept that would mark the history of the most popular sport on the planet: the Galactics. Luis Figo comes from FC Barcelona in 2000, Zinedine Zidane (Juventus Turin) in 2001, Ronaldo (Inter Milan) in 2002, David Beckham (Manchester United) in 2003. Several other stars of the time including Raul (trained in Madrid) and Roberto Carlos will constitute this constellation of players destined to win on the field (Champions League 2002), produce an unprecedented spectacle and bail out the coffers of a heavily indebted club upon the arrival of its CEO. The bet :paying a high price for world stars to sell the Real Madrid brand, even if it means sometimes forgetting the sporting aspect by recruiting above all players with an offensive vocation to the detriment of the team's balance. Whatever, the style of play appeals to socios (shareholder supporters), delighted to see their jersey fascinate the world of football. Florentino Perez has achieved his goal.
“It is his experience as an economic leader that enabled him to do this,”
analyzes Juan José Dorado.
“From now on, we cannot differentiate the company and the Real Madrid brand from the sports entity.
One cannot go without the other ”
.
Another marketing coup
Many years and controversies later, the titles (national and continental) have accumulated for the Merengues (meringues in Spanish) thanks to other winning choices: Cristiano Ronaldo in attack leader, and Zinedine Zidane in leader of men who have sometimes strained relations with their employer. His new start, recorded after an unrewarded season, imposes a difficult choice, that of the successor, on a president accustomed to criticism. Another project in progress: the renovation of the Santiago Bernabeu stadium which will have a retractable lawn that is said to be unique in its kind. Another marketing coup. Football and business: the two parallel and inseparable trajectories of Florentino Perez who at 74 and despite the contrary winds intends to remain the one who pulls the strings
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