Real Madrid’s Long History of Blockbuster Election Signings

With just days to go before Real Madrid’s socios vote on the club’s next president on June 7, campaigning is in full swing. While pledges from both candidates have been wide-ranging, from an overhaul at Valdebebas to behind-the-scenes changes, much of the focus has been on potential signings.

Enrique Riquelme, pretender to the throne and the first man to take on Florentino Pérez in 20 years, has made a number of headline-grabbing claims. Last month after announcing his candidacy, the 37-year-old CEO of Cox Energy said: “There is an agreement that if I am president of Real Madrid, there are two major international stars who will play for Real Madrid.”

Riquelme has also lamented the lack of Real Madrid representation and promised the signing of a Spain national team star as a first order of business under his presidency.

Here, Sports Illustrated takes a look at the prospective election signings this summer as well as blockbuster election signings from the past.

Riquelme Teases Rodri Signing

Speaking to Tiempo de Juego this week, Riquelme suggested that Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri will be one of his signings.

“Rodri is a great player,” Riquelme said. “If I were president of Real Madrid, a player like Rodri would play for Real Madrid. We wouldn’t have to go through the painful embarrassment of not having any Real Madrid players on the Spanish national team. I would like Rodri to play for Real Madrid.”

Meanwhile, Sky Sports DE claims that the other “major international star” Riquelme wants is, in fact, Rodri’s City teammate Erling Haaland.

It’s hard to imagine two more high-profile signings Madrid could make this summer than Rodri—Madrid born and still among the best defensive midfielders in the world—and Haaland—the Premier League’s top goalscorer in three of the last four seasons.

Riquelme has also teased that he has a deal in place with a manager to succeed Álvaro Arbeloa and has attached club legend Raúl González to his ticket as his would-be sporting director.

Pérez Plans To Continue Big-Name Legacy

🚨 Florentino Perez's new banner ahead of the elections.

— @elchiringuitotv pic.twitter.com/P5jvx66k6u
— Madrid Universal (@MadridUniversal) June 1, 2026

Pérez has been less detailed when discussing signings.

It has been reported that the 79-year-old incumbent has made a deal for José Mourinho to return to the club, should he retain the presidency, but there has been little in the way of concrete talk regarding transfers.

Pérez’s campaign has leaned heavily on nostalgia and past glories, with the slogan “Much more history to make.”

Most tellingly, a giant, and not-so-subtle banner was unveiled in Madrid this week, showcasing the name and number of blockbuster arrivals during Pérez’s tenure from Luís Figo to Kylian Mbappé, followed by the words “to be continued”.

Ibrahima Konaté is also expected to join if Pérez wins re-election. Elsewhere, one report in Spain from COPE has claimed that Pérez will also target defender Alessandro Bastoni (Inter Milan), midfielder João Neves (PSG) and winger Victor Muñoz (Osasuna).

From Sánchez to Figo—Madrid’s History of Campaign Promises

Luís Figo was the centerpiece of Pérez’s first election. | Mike Hewitt /Allsport/Getty Images

The promise of shiny new players has long been a key feature of campaigning in Real Madrid’s presidential elections.

Back in 2000, Pérez won his first term after promising to deliver Fígo—then contracted to arch-rivals Barcelona. The jaw-dropping promise of taking the league’s best player from Madrid’s greatest rivals ultimately secured Pérez the vote ahead of the incumbent Lorenzo Sanz, who had delivered two Champions League titles during his term.

Figo was famously targeted by irate Barcelona fans upon his return to Camp Nou, with a pig’s head among the objects thrown at the winger as he went to take a corner. For Pérez, the signing laid down a marker, showing he could sign anyone for Madrid.

The Figo transfer was followed up by a series of deals for the world’s biggest names—Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo Nazario, David Beckham—creating the super-team that came to be known as the Galácticos.

However, Pérez was not the first presdent to employ the tactic of attaching the promise of superstar signings to his ticket.

Back in 1985, Ramón Mendoza was elected unopposed after proposing the signing of prolific striker Hugo Sánchez from Atlético Madrid. The transfer was so controversial that Sánchez was first sold to Pumas UNAM back in his home country before being signed by Real Madrid—to save Atléti from dealing directly with their rivals.

Mendoza, who would later defeat Pérez in the 1994 elections, also used the likes of Robert Prosinečki and Brian Laudrup as vote winners in subsequent campaigns.

Perez’s Dominance Built on Star Power

Cristiano Ronaldo and Floretino Pérez — Cristiano Ronaldo arrived the summer after Pérez’s return. | Dani Pozo/AFP via Getty Images)

In 2006—the last time Madrid had a contested election—Ramón Calderon triumphed in a field of five candidates after pitching the signings of Kaká, Cesc Fàbregas and Arjen Robben. Ultimately, however, only the latter arrived under his presidency.

Pérez, who returned to office in 2009, cemented his power with his Galácticos 2.0 project, bringing in Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaká, Karim Benzema and Xabi Alonso in one summer of heavy spending.

Over the last 16 years, the big-name, big-money arrivals have continued from Gareth Bale to Vinicius Jr, Jude Bellingham and Mbappé.

With his signings helping to usher in a new golden age for Madrid, Pérez has had a chokehold on the presidency in recent years and was unopposed in the four most recent electoral cycles (2013, 2017, 2021, 2025).

Riquelme has spent much of the last few weeks attempting to differentiate himself from Pérez. However, he is leaning on the old master’s tricks when it comes to tantalizing promises to win over voters.

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