Real Madrid celebrated on Sunday a new assembley with their Socios, the season ticket holders who are the owners of the club. Florentino Pérez had to explain his project for the future of Real Madrid, approve the budget for the next season and reply to the socios’ questions. Among other important things, they approved the new president of honour.
Several years ago, Florentino Pérez proposed the figure of president of honour. It should be clear that the best footballer who has ever worn Los Blancos t-shirt had to be the president, so Alfredo di Stéfano accepted the deal. However, the Argentinian born player passed away on July 2014, so the club needed a new president of honour.
On Sunday it was approved that this new president of honour should be Francisco Gento. “I propose with huge emotion and love Francisco Gento López as Real Madrid president of honour”, Florentino said. The whole assembley stood up and applause the club legend, “the only player with six Champions League, 601 games with Real Madrid”, Florentino remembered. “I know Alfredo (Di Stéfano) would be proud of you to replace him”, the president told Gento.
Francisco Gento (El Astillero, Spain, 1933) is one of the big legends of the club. He played in one of the best teams in the history of football together with Di Stéfano, Coppa, Rial… He is the only player to have won six European Cup trophies -currently the Champions League- and the only one to have won 12 La Liga titles.
He arrived to Real Madrid in the year 1953 from Racing the Santander making his debut against FC Barcelona and retired in 1971 with Los Blancos. In that time, apart from La Liga and the European Cups, he won 2 Copa del Rey trophies, one Intercontinental Cup and two Latin Cups. He was called “La Galerna del Cantábrico” (The Gale of the Cantabrian Sea) due to his speed as a winger.
