Real Madrid President, Florentino Pérez, has called for expedited board election amid media campaigns against his leadership capacity and health, suggesting he had cancer, insisting that he’ll not resign.

Pérez, while addressing the media in the press room of the Ciudad Real Madrid, disclosed that the board will initiate the Electoral process, indicating that all directors will participate.

He said, “Thank you all for attending. I regret to inform you that I will not resign; instead, I have asked the Board to initiate the electoral process for the elections to the Board of Directors, in which the current Board of Directors will participate.”

“Why am I calling for elections? For a simple reason. Since the year 2000, I have worked to ensure that the owners of Real Madrid are its members, unlike what happens in other clubs. At Real Madrid, there is no single owner; it belongs to the 100,000 members who form and are part of Real Madrid.”

He added, “I have made this decision because an absurd situation has been created, driven by campaigns aimed at generating a current of opinion against the interests of Real Madrid, and especially against me. They take advantage of the fact that we have had results that were not the best, but this is something we accept because in sports, you don’t always win. This has happened to us many times before, but they exploit these situations to attack me personally.”

The Real Madrid president reassured members of the press that he is in good health, stressing that it has enabled him to manage over 170,000 employees across his companies.

Pérez said, “They say: ‘Where is Florentino?’. Normally, I don’t speak. They say I am sick and have terminal cancer. I would like to reassure those concerned about me that every day I continue to preside over Real Madrid and my company, which, I remind you, is a world leader in infrastructure, with 170,000 employees and an annual turnover of 50 billion. My health is perfect because I couldn’t manage both roles without being in perfect health. I don’t know where this rumour came from.

“If they claim I have cancer, I would have to go to an oncology centre for treatment. Do you think that if this were true, it wouldn’t have been reported worldwide? It is not true. They made it up and decided that I am tired. I work tirelessly. I am the first to wake up and the last to go to bed.”

Pérez also highlighted his achievements since becoming president of Real Madrid CF, noting that the club has won 66 titles across football and basketball competitions under his leadership.

He said, “I share the frustration that this year we haven’t been able to win anything. I am the first to want to win it all. Let me remind you that under my presidency, we have won 66 titles in football and basketball: 37 in football and 29 in basketball, including 7 European Cups in football and 3 European Cups in basketball.”

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