The sum does not sit in a club bank account and buys no shares. A candidate for the Real Madrid presidency has to produce a bank guarantee equal to 15% of the club’s annual expenditure budget, currently set at €1.248 billion, which puts the required figure at €187 million.
The rule applies to anyone, which means it applies to Rafael Nadal too. The 22-time Grand Slam champion joined Real Madrid’s board of directors on Wednesday, subject to ratification by the club’s General Assembly on 21 November, and the question of whether he could one day run the club has trailed him since his retirement from tennis in November 2024.
A guarantee against personal wealth
Real Madrid is a members-owned club. Its socios vote for the president, and the statutes are written to keep outsiders out. A candidate has to have been a member for at least 20 years, and the guarantee cannot rest on someone else’s money. The Electoral Board is entitled to demand proof that the money is backed by the candidate’s own assets.
Pérez has the job until 2030
Florentino Pérez was re-elected on 7 June 2026, beating businessman Enrique Riquelme by 65% to 35% in the first contested presidential vote at the club in two decades. His new term runs to 2030.
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Nadal pushed back on the presidency talk in May, when Pérez called the election.
“I have read reports that link me to possible candidacies for the presidency of Real Madrid. I would like to clarify that these reports are not true,” he wrote on 14 May, in a statement reported by Field Level Media.
The board, not the presidency
Six months on, the board seat is a much smaller step, and one the statutes do not price at €187 million.
“I want to thank president Florentino Pérez and the board who proposed me to be part of the board of directors at Real Madrid,” Nadal said in a club statement carried by Sky Sports.
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The General Assembly meets on 21 November to ratify his appointment.
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