Real Madrid consider opening up to external investors, Perez says

MADRID :Real Madrid are considering creating a subsidiary that would allow external investors to buy a stake of around 5 per cent in the world's most valuable football club, its president, Florentino Perez, said on Sunday.

Madrid's members will be invited to vote on the proposal that would require a change to its statutes at an extraordinary general meeting in the near future, Perez said at the club's annual meeting.

He also said the current ownership-by-members model would remain intact and that being a member would now have "a real and tangible value."

"If someone is willing to invest significant amounts of money for a symbolic stake, this is the greatest demonstration of Real Madrid's value," Perez told the club's members in an hour-long speech repeatedly interrupted by applause.

"This investor - or investors - must respect our values, contribute to the growth of the club and help us to protect our assets from external attacks," he said.

Like Spanish rivals FC Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna, Real have a membership model. Some 2,000 of the club's members are selected as delegates to the annual meeting, where they can elect the club's president, review annual accounts and vote to change their statutes.

An initiative to open the ownership to outside investors would follow a deal by U.S. fund Apollo this month to become the majority shareholder in Real's rival Atletico Madrid, the latest venture into soccer by private equity firms attracted by the sport's stable and predictable revenue streams.

Real are the only club in world football to have recorded revenues of more than 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion), according to Deloitte. Revenue for the 2024/2025 season grew to 1.19 billion euros, while net revenue after tax