Real Madrid are exploring the biggest change to their ownership model in the club’s 123-year history, as president Florentino Pérez looks for fresh investment to keep Los Blancos ahead of increasingly powerful Premier League rivals.
At the club’s annual general assembly, Pérez is outlining a proposal that would, for the first time, allow external shareholders to acquire a minority stake in the institution. The idea under discussion is to open up roughly 5–10 per cent of Real Madrid to private investors, while keeping full sporting and political control in the hands of the club’s members (socios).
Why Real Madrid are looking for new money
The context is clear: English clubs are pulling away financially. Premier League teams massively outspent La Liga sides in the most recent transfer window, raising the bar for wages and fees across European football.
At the same time, private equity funds have accelerated their move into the game:
- Apollo recently agreed to take a majority stake in Atlético de Madrid at a valuation above €2bn.
- Clearlake Capital backed Todd Boehly’s £2.5bn purchase of Chelsea.
- RedBird Capital bought AC Milan in a deal worth about €1.2bn.
- Oaktree took control of Inter Milan after the previous owners failed to repay debt.
Real Madrid have resisted outright takeovers and remains, along with Barcelona, one of the few elite clubs still owned by a six-figure membership base. But staying fully member-owned also limits their ability to raise equity capital at a time of intense spending and rapid stadium modernisation.
What Pérez is proposing
According to people close to the process, the plan is to amend the club’s bylaws so that:
- Real Madrid can sell up to 10% of the club to outside investors.
- The remaining 90%+ and controlling structure stays with the socios.
- The club’s non-profit status and requirement to reinvest in football operations would be revisited as part of a broader restructuring.
The move would effectively set an official market value for Real Madrid for the first time, after years of external estimates and internal hints. Football Benchmark recently valued the club at about €6.3bn, including debt, ahead of Manchester City’s €5.1bn valuation. Pérez has previously floated the idea that the club could be worth in excess of €10bn.
New equity could be used to:
- Strengthen the squad and wage bill in the face of Premier League competition.
- Manage debt and future costs from the €1.2bn Santiago Bernabéu redevelopment, which was designed to create a multi-purpose venue for football and major events.
- Give Real Madrid additional flexibility around future investments, commercial projects and potential new competitions.
Real already have deep links with global finance, having worked with JPMorgan on both the failed European Super League plan and stadium financing, and having sold a long-term Bernabéu revenue share to Sixth Street in a deal worth around €360m.
Supporters’ backlash: “Real Madrid is not for sale”
Not everyone is convinced. Some socios and fan voices are already pushing back against the idea of opening the door to investors, even for a small minority stake.
Critics argue that:
- Real Madrid’s identity is built on being a members’ club, “founded on trust and loyalty,” not on shareholder returns.
- Selling even a small percentage puts a tradable price on an institution many supporters consider “priceless”.
- Once outside investors are in the room, future boards could be pressured to expand that stake, changing the nature of the club over time.
For these fans, Real Madrid’s current model – 100% member-owned, globally dominant, and yet still rooted in local socios – is a competitive advantage in itself, not a weakness that needs correcting.
Pérez’s legacy play
For Florentino Pérez, this project is about more than balance sheets. His presidency has already reshaped modern Real Madrid:
- Two separate spells as president since 2000.
- The original “Galáctico” era with signings like Zinedine Zidane and later Cristiano Ronaldo.
- A transformation of the club into a commercial giant, now generating more than €1.1bn in annual revenue.
- Six Champions League titles in his second spell alone, and 15 European Cups overall for the club.
- The hugely ambitious – and controversial – Bernabéu overhaul.
- A leading role in the attempted European Super League, a project still quietly championed in Madrid despite fierce opposition from fans, rival clubs and UEFA.
Introducing outside capital while preserving member control would, in Pérez’s view, hard-wire both accountability and financial muscle into Real Madrid’s future. It would also cement his image as the president who modernised the club’s structure for the era of sovereign wealth funds and global investment groups.
Stadium pressures and local politics
The Bernabéu renovation is a big part of this story. The stadium has been redesigned as a flexible, state-of-the-art venue intended to host:
- Real Madrid matches
- Other sports events
- Major concerts and entertainment shows
However, high-profile concerts – including performances by global stars such as Taylor Swift – have triggered noise complaints from residents, forcing the club to pause plans for regular large-scale music events. That complicates the business case for some of the stadium’s revenue-driven features and adds further pressure to diversify income.
Outside investment could help buffer those uncertainties, especially if certain revenue streams are delayed or restricted by regulation and local politics.
What happens next?
For now, nothing changes immediately. The weekend assembly is expected to:
- Approve the latest set of accounts.
- Allow Pérez to present his vision and outline potential structural options.
- Begin the political process needed to call a vote on bylaw changes, possibly as early as next year.
Any reform would still need the green light from the membership. That vote is likely to be intense and emotional, pitting long-term tradition and identity against the realities of competing in a market dominated by Premier League TV money and private equity cash.
What it means for Real Madrid and European football
If socios back Pérez’s plan, Real Madrid would become a hybrid model: still member-controlled, but with institutional capital formally at the table. That would:
- Set a benchmark valuation for one of the world’s biggest clubs.
- Offer a template for other member-owned institutions looking for funds without a full sale.
- Further entrench the role of private investment firms in elite European football.
If the members reject it, Real Madrid will send a powerful message in the opposite direction – that some clubs are willing to sacrifice financial firepower to preserve a unique ownership structure.
Either way, the debate around the Bernabéu and the socios is about more than money: it’s about what kind of club Real Madrid wants to be in the age of billion-euro takeovers and global entertainment brands.