Real Madrid shares surprising news as the identity of Florentino Perez’s ‘mystery Galactico’ is finally uncovered
Real Madrid just made a public announcement that seems to reveal who Florentino Perez’s “mystery Galactico” is.
Perez was re-elected as the club president on Sunday, June 7, beating his rival Enrique Riquelme. The 79-year-old, who has been president since 2009, promised during his campaign to spend around €150 million on a star player from a top Champions League team.
He said the player isn’t Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku, Michael Olise, or Harry Kane. There were rumors about players like Vitinha and Joao Neves from Paris Saint-Germain, but PSG denied any talks.
On a Spanish TV show called Horizonte, Perez said, “On Tuesday or so, I’m going to make an offer to a major Champions League club for a great player. It would be the biggest transfer fee Real Madrid has ever paid.” He added that the player needs to be a midfielder who drives the team forward, is not from the Premier League, and again ruled out Haaland, Olise, and Doku.
True to his word, on Tuesday, June 9, Real Madrid made an unusual move by releasing a statement saying they offered €150 million (£129.4 million) for Julián Álvarez from Atletico Madrid, but the offer was turned down.
The club said, “Real Madrid CF announces that, after today’s board meeting, it offered 150 million euros to Club Atlético de Madrid for Júlia Álvarez’s rights. Atletico thanked us for the offer but rejected it, referring to the player’s release clause.”
It’s worth noting that Barcelona also recently had a €100 million (£86.3 million) bid for Álvarez rejected by Atletico. Arsenal and PSG have shown interest but haven’t made official offers.
Originally, Álvarez’s release clause was believed to be €500 million (£431.3 million). However, reports say the contract has special terms for some top Champions League clubs like Barcelona, possibly allowing a €150 million (£129.4 million) deal, making a transfer more realistic.
Shortly after the announcement about Álvarez, Real Madrid also confirmed that head coach Álvaro Arbeloa has left the club. This clears the way for Jose Mourinho to potentially join the team.
The club said, “Real Madrid and Álvaro Arbeloa have agreed to end his time as first-team coach. We thank Álvaro for his loyalty, hard work, and professionalism. He truly represents our values, and Real Madrid will always be his home. We wish him and his family all the best in their next chapter.”