Florentino Pérez: not leavin' (clip)

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1:14Ryan Hunn: hey everyone Ryan here hope you're having a good week and that you're all safe and well Moose and I recorded an episode yesterday that went up on our Patreon about Florentino Perez's press conference earlier on in the week and the wider situation at Real Madrid so we thought we'd put a clip up on the free feed for everyone and if you want to go and listen to the episode in full the link is in the podcast description you can sign up as a stadio member on patreon.com forward slash stadio so yeah here's a clip from yesterday's episodes hope you enjoy florentino perez has called for elections at rome madrid if you have not read the sid low piece in the guardian about this go and read it it's incredible florentino perez called a press conference and met the press apparently for the first time since Zidane left which is wild which is symbolic as well yeah the disintegration the relationship with Zidane was one it was the first time in the modern era I was like ah Perez is like he's losing his touch he's losing his you know you see him in the documentary the Figo documentary he's at the peak of his powers the Zidane situation when he left that time, I thought, ah, like he's losing his, he's losing his edge actually.

2:26And I feel like he does that thing, reaching out. It's a place, it comes in a place of insecurity. If someone in power, some authoritarian position, when authoritarians come down and meet the masses, it's a sign, I think, from their perspective of weakness that he's engaged like this because he looked extremely, his authority feels more fragile than it's ever felt. It was such a bizarre, just a bizarre thing to happen.

2:49Ryan Hunn: But for me, it was more like, of course this is happening. Of course. This is just the kind of thing that just happens down in football to the point where you've got Florentino Perez, the president of the biggest club in the world, basically going after people out of paranoia. So he comes down, the first thing he said was, good afternoon, I regret to inform you that I'm not going to resign. before saying that he was going to call presidential elections at Real Madrid, but there was no date. There was nothing like a resignation. Are you saying this is a meeting? It could have been an email. Exactly.

3:27Ryan Hunn: This whole thing could have been an email. It could have been a communicado official. He needs to also resign before anything of that can happen. And it's going to be one of those things, he's going to run unopposed again, right? Because the stipulations for running for Real Madrid president are so exclusionary, right? You have to have a certain amount of guaranteed wealth, be a member for a certain amount of time, be a Spanish citizen, blah, blah, blah, blah. But this is a guy who is responding to what's going on in the Real Madrid Wrestling at the moment, which we talked about on Monday was a bit of a mess, by deciding that Jose Mourinho is the answer.

4:03It's the first time I've seen a loss of aura. It's the first time I've seen a loss of aura from Perez, because you know what he did? You know this thing? it's the first time that perez was in the presence of someone even more galactic the first time it's the only time it was like um you know those um those interstellar like collisions between stars and black holes that was like perez meeting like a singularity like zidane leaving it it threw him off his orbit and i'm telling you it's no coincidence that it's it's we're there again it's the only time Perez has felt that insecure when Zidane like left like that I think about this all the time like because again if you look at Perez that Netflix doc when he's got Figo he's just like I am the king of the world this you know this my reign is going to be eternal and it's so interesting because there's a direct descendant we haven't heard Perez talk like this for a while right but that thing picking that fight about the Ballon d 'Or and Vinicius that came from the very top that weird campaign about the Ballon d 'Or look at these comments about people in the shadows that he's using in the press conference.

5:08And Perez, I think, feels the dying of the light because he looks at all the players, he looks at the dressing room, and he's no fool. You look at the galaxy stars, the stars who've come through Madrid and the stuff they've won and the conversations about Madrid and the brand, and it's just not what it was. It's just not what it was. And he feels it at a level that is kind of a deep level, but because he's completely incapable of the self-reflection that needs to be like, actually, maybe I'm the problem, it's somebody else's fault and that's why he's crashing out and that's why he's coming out with these comments like you know oh what does she know about football any of this any of that like it's just horrible it's really like just it's bleak and it's grim and it's grubby and it's almost like he's doing this public speech but he's almost got contempt that he's got to do it at all

5:59Pool days call for cookouts and lots of laundry This Memorial Day at Lowe's, save$80 on a Charbroil Performance Series 4-Burner Gas Grill. Now just$199. Plus, get up to 45 % off select major appliances to keep dishes, clothes, and food fresh. Having fun in the sun is easy with us in your corner. Our best lineup is here at Lowe's. Valid for 527. While supplies last, selection varies by location. See associate or lowes.com for details. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies.

6:40Try it at Progressive.com. Progressive casualty insurance company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.

6:50Ryan Hunn: You see it with various elements of politics as well, right? I mean, when you create an environment like that at a powerful institution, where you remain unchecked for, what, like a quarter of a century, essentially, in Perez's case, because of the conditions that are needed to be the president of a club like Real Madrid, there aren't really any moves for the throne. there's no counter to anything that you think or say and therefore you live in this bubble and the problem that happens i think is when you then exist when you then kind of come down and meet the masses like you said it really reminds me of this old it's very game of thronesy right because totally totally i think one of the more interesting movements in football in the last 15 years let's say has been the separation between what the people at executive level think what's actually happening and what the audience wants and you have this thing about you know the whole thing with the Agnelli Perez, TikTok kids haven't got the no one watches football anymore no they do they also want it to mean something a little more I think on the whole and not everyone but a huge amount of people I think that are underestimating that sense or that need for connection in the modern era right which is it's something that's quite alien to these people in these positions because it's balance sheets and trophies and power and all this kind of stuff there isn't anything that stuff just feels like weak and meaningless and i think what you're seeing here is just a removal from the actual reality of what the majority of people who follow football or anything are actually going through and you're seeing it with Perez, you're seeing it with Infantino and you're seeing it with the World Cup, right?

8:40Ryan Hunn: There are huge parallels there. I was suddenly thinking to myself, when is the last time Florentino Perez opened a door in public? Like as in when escorted by people, like when doors just magically, like you're Jedi, like you're walking and every path is open. When is the last time this man actually opened a door? Because, and I say that only half in jest because he thought that press conference was a good idea. in his mind the way that played out in his mind it's like you know when Elon Musk went on stage with Dave Chappelle in San Francisco and thought people would just like applaud him because he'd been in that own world so long that he was like I'm going to come on stage and everyone's going to be like oh great It was like that person the other day who gave that speech at the graduation ceremony praising AI and everyone would just work Oh what the hell Yeah it's going to disrupt it's going to be the new industrial revolution it's like And they were like, what?

9:32You're telling us it's going to remove our jobs. And we expect us to cheer. Because what is happening? See what it is? The final... People are looking for... Perez is angry, right? If I interpret his comments, if I just read what he said and look at what he said, talking about people in the shadows trying to undermine him and he's not going anywhere, do you know what's wild? It's not enough. It's not enough. This adoration, adulation for Perez, the trophies, everything, the trophies, the wealth, it's not enough. It's like that, um, what's that film, everything everywhere all at once, where you're just filled with this void and you cannot fill it.

10:10Not enough trophies will fill it. The money won't fill it. The, the adoration, the presidential box that says something very interesting about the, the fundamental emptiness of like material possessions. And it sounds like all kind of philosophical, but I think we have to go there because what else can this be? You should be the most content person. You've won the Champions League multiple times with teams that are beloved, with players that are beloved, some of the best football we've ever seen, the best finishing, counterattacking. Everywhere, every room you walk into should be a celebration.

10:43Ryan Hunn: Can I just read a couple of bits from the Sid Lowe piece? Oh my God, it's so good. I love this paragraph. There were more enemies at the gates and within them. A hint at the court politics that go on around him. Leave the internal enemies to me, he said. oh my goodness terrifying leave the internal enemies to me so wild man do you think this is just going to be one of those it's quite performative it's almost like look I gave you a chance this is faux democracy stuff right it's just like look I gave you a chance to vote someone else in and no one stood against me and so therefore I will continue with unchecked power and it's the first time you've ever seen someone in a relegation battle with themselves maybe it really is this is in a relegation battle with himself who stands against him to be honest let's put it this way look at the criteria for being present remodred they're so restrictive what 20 years of member and a certain amount of wealth there's a very short list of people that can be so if i'm a contender you know i do i think he's 79 he'll be out of the job in a couple of years and then i'll have free run at it rather than risk the embarrassment of going up against someone with seven Champions League titles and having to run this outsider campaign, I will just wait till he steps down in a couple of years, then I'll have a free run at it.

12:00That list is like a very, very short list of people that can actually run against him. And this is the thing, this is why it's like a monarchy. Because at any one time, and it is the Game of Thrones thing, at any one time in Game of Thrones, there's only like a handful of people with the military and the wealth and the swag, the charisma to take you on. so if I was a potential challenger I'd just wait it out I'd sit there and smile and I'd go to all the cafes and the bars and everyone would be like oh but you're the heir apparent and I'd nod and smile preparing to become another bland member of that board I'd step out from the magnolia the boundless magnolia of the director's box

12:36Ryan Hunn: I'd do a kickstarter guys let's go I need to raise this amount of money to run for Real Madrid presidency and I'm going to push for Spanish citizenship and I'm going to fast track it. Fast track it. The applications are actually open. Candidacies on the Real Madrid website says candidacies can be submitted from May the 14th to May 23rd. I think we might be cutting it a bit fine, but next time it comes around, man, I'm in. You're in. We were chatting at a friend's WhatsApp group yesterday just about this, how good the content would be, right? Can you imagine just the, come with me as I accidentally become Real Madrid president?

13:14Ryan Hunn: Oh my goodness. it's my first day of the job nice office overlooking oh look who's here hey Vinny but then again you're ready to be president like I said everyone is answering the phone to you everyone is answering the phone yeah finally

13:32Ryan Hunn: so that was a clip from yesterday's episode that we put up on Patreon if you want to go and listen to the episode or every single Stadio episode ad free in full you can go to patreon.com forward slash Stadio have a great weekend we'll be back with you on the free feed on Monday

14:14We'll be right back. Easy with us in your corner. Our best lineup is here at Lowe's. Valid for 527. While supplies last, selection varies by location. See associate or lowes.com for details.