Perez vows record €150m signing amid election turmoil
Florentino Perez has never shied away from a fight. On Spanish television programme Horizonte, with the presidential race tightening and the noise around Real Madrid growing louder by the day, he chose confrontation over calm — and a headline-grabbing transfer tease over quiet diplomacy.
The long-serving president dismissed the dream scenarios being painted by his rival Enrique Riquelme and drew a thick red line through the two names dominating the rumour mill.
"It's not Erling Haaland or Harry Kane," Perez said, shutting down speculation that either striker is on his way to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Instead, he pointed to something even bigger. Or at least, more expensive.
Record-breaking deal in the works
Perez revealed that Madrid are preparing an offer that would shatter the club’s transfer record. He spoke of a player valued at €150 million, with an announcement expected next week, and made it clear the deal is already advanced.
"On Tuesday, I'm going to make a significant offer to a top Champions League team for a great player," he said. "It would be the largest transfer fee Real Madrid has ever paid. At least 150 million."
No name. No hints. Just a figure and a promise.
The timing is no accident. The statement lands in the middle of an increasingly bitter presidential campaign, with Riquelme trying to build momentum on the back of bold pledges and big stars. Perez, in turn, is reminding the Real Madrid electorate who still controls the levers of power in the transfer market.
Mourinho, Konaté and Dumfries on Perez’s list
Perez did not stop at the mystery €150m man. He openly listed three targets he says are already in his plans.
"I can tell you about three signings: [Jose] Mourinho, [Ibrahima] Konate, and [Denzel] Dumfries. But there will be more."
The message was clear: Real Madrid’s project, in his eyes, is not a fantasy built on electoral slogans. It is already in motion. Manager, defence, flanks — he wanted voters to feel that the spine of the next Madrid is being assembled in real time, under his direction.
A presidency under siege
Beneath the transfer talk, though, lay something more personal. Perez used the platform to launch a fierce attack on what he sees as an orchestrated attempt to destabilise the club from the shadows.
"The criticism doesn't hurt me. What hurts me is that these people want to influence Real Madrid; Riquelme's father was one of them," he said.
He spoke of a "conspiracy in the media" and painted a picture of a club under siege from interests he links directly to a darker chapter in Real Madrid’s history.
"I've been noticing a kind of conspiracy in the media to destabilize the club. I wanted to nip it in the bud. That's why I decided to call elections," Perez explained. "What a coincidence that those who wanted to destabilize Real Madrid are the same ones who come from a sinister period in the club's history. They brought people into the assemblies who weren't from Real Madrid, they snuck in. And that's why I came back in 2009. Now, those are their children. I'm furious."
This was not the language of a president quietly seeking another mandate. It was the language of a man who feels his legacy and his authority are being dragged into a street fight.
Haaland promise branded a "bluff"
Riquelme has tried to electrify his campaign with a simple, powerful pledge: bring Erling Haaland to the Bernabeu. For many fans, that kind of promise is enough to turn a campaign into a movement.
Perez, though, tore into it.
"Everyone has denied it: his father, his agent, and the club. It's a bluff. It's a candidacy full of bluffs. And that's why I'm here, to defend Real Madrid. We are a united club."
In one breath, he attempted to strip Riquelme’s campaign of credibility and present himself as the guardian of Madrid’s institutional stability. No fantasy signings. No empty promises. Just a record-breaking offer already on the table and a defence of what he calls the club’s values.
The stage is now set: a furious president, a challenger promising Haaland, and a mystery €150m signing about to test just how much transfer power still sways Real Madrid’s future.
