The head of a group of Real Madrid fans has claimed club president Florentino Perez does not fully grasp the amount of debt Los Blancos are in, leaving the club in a dangerous situation.
Carlos Mendoza, the president of the ‘Asociacion por los Valores del Madridismo’, said suggestions the club are just 90 million euros in debt are wide of the mark, and that the figure is closer to 540 million euros – a figure quoted in today’s edition of AS, which carries the interview.
According to Mendoza, 90 million euros would represent net debt, or the debt only owed to banks. But Los Blancos also owe millions to players, clubs, sporting associations, public administration, suppliers. Having studied the financial situation at the club, Mendoza said plans for a stadium renovation are worrying, given the financial climate.
“We have studied the accounts and the budget and we have detected things which are not explained by the president – things which worry us for the future. Even with that debt, he wants to take on the redevelopment of the Bernabeu, which he says will cost 400 million euros” he stated.
And he added: “And then he says he does not know how it will be financed, that he will use ingenious methods… If there is uncertainty, then to plunge into this 400 million euros Bernabeu project does not seem the most prudent.”
The most recent Forbes list put Real Madrid as the world’s richest club, and while Mendoza accepted Perez is skilled in the marketing sector and able to boost the club’s income, the expenditure is the worrying factor.
“We have the highest revenues, but also the highest outgoings. And revenues have been growing by 12 percent a year for the last decade, but in the last year only grew by 1 percent, while the costs are exploding,” he is quoted as saying.
