Real Madrid members meet as an ownership change is considered

Real Madrid held the annual meeting of its members on Sunday, with expectations rising that the Spanish football club could decide to allow new investors to take a stake of up to 10 percent.

Several media reports have said that club president Florentino Perez plans to allow outside investors to join the approximately 100,000 members who own Real Madrid. Two people familiar with the matter spoke Reuters such a plan was considered.

Real Madrid did not respond to a request for comment.

Like Barcelona, ​​​​Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna, Real follows a membership model.

Approximately 2,000 members of the club are selected as delegates to the annual meeting, where they can elect the club’s president, examine the annual accounts and vote to amend the bylaws.

A move to open ownership to outside investors would follow a deal by US fund Apollo this month to become majority shareholder in Real’s rival Atletico Madrid, the latest venture into football by private equity firms attracted by the sport’s stable and predictable revenue streams.

According to Deloitte, Real is the only football club in the world with a turnover of more than 1 billion euros.

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But Perez has warned that the membership model is holding them back, especially when competing in the transfer market with rival European clubs such as Paris St Germain, Manchester City or Chelsea, which are owned by private equity, billionaires or oil-rich states.

Real Madrid have taken the lead in creating a European Super League, with Perez arguing this would be a way for the club to remain competitive.

At last year’s meeting, Perez raised the idea of ​​holding a referendum on the reorganization of the club’s ownership structure, which would “protect us from the threats we face” – while emphasizing that the club would remain owned by its members.

According to Real Madrid’s statutes, the club is obliged to hold an extraordinary meeting to amend its statutes and structure. Real has already struck deals with US private equity firms in an effort to keep pace.

In 2022, it reached a deal with Sixth Street in which it would receive 360 ​​million euros in exchange for transferring the rights to develop and operate new businesses at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium for 20 years.

Published on November 23, 2025