Real Madrid’s big 2026 presidential election was dramatic, from start to finish. Incumbent resident Florentino Perez and 37-year-old businessman Enrique Riquelme ran against each other in what was the first contested election t0 become Real president since 2006.
Opponent Riquelme promised to sign Erling Haaland and Rodri from Manchester City if he were to win, so Perez had to follow in suit. Perez chose a slightly less auspicious route, though, claiming he would launch a massive €150 million bid for
an unnamed player. For long, that player was rumored to be Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise, with this rumor garnering enough attention that Bayern’s president spoke about it.
But, all along, the target was Atlético Madrid striker Julián Álvarez. Real Madrid’s official website confirmed this on Tuesday:
Real Madrid CF announces that, following today’s Board of Directors meeting, it has made an offer of 150 million euros to Club Atlético de Madrid for the federative rights of the player Julián Álvarez.
After studying and evaluating it, Atlético de Madrid has thanked the club for the offer, made within the framework of the good relations existing between both clubs, and has rejected it, referring to the player’s release clause.
This release clause is said to stand at €500 million. With four years left on the Argentinian’s contract, Real’s Madrid rivals have all the leverage in these negotiations and are unlikely to let him go. And…erm, Atleti responded to the official announcement of the bid like this:
BFW Analysis
To put it simply: Perez’s promise was much more effective than Riquelme’s and ultimately played a crucial role in winning him the election. Because he never actually promised to sign a player. He simply promised to make a humungous bid, a promise that has now been fulfilled. It is likely he knew Atlético would reject the bid, as Bayern would have for Olise, but the hype generated by the promise was enough to guarantee him victory.
The situation is still silly, especially when one considers the above tweet and the fact that FC Barcelona have been heavily linked to Álvarez. This might or might not be the end of Real’s interest in the player, but perhaps the drama around Álvarez will continue.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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