Florentino Perez is running an aggressive campaign ahead of Real Madrid’s high-stakes presidential election this coming Sunday, flexing his muscles by highlighting several already-completed blockbuster transfers. Now, the incumbent candidate for reelection has dropped his most tantalizing campaign promise yet, vowing that the club will launch a staggering €150 million bid for a “Cristiano Ronaldo-level player” who is decidedly not Erling Haaland.
Appearing on the Spanish television program Horizonte, Perez gave socios a dramatic preview of his immediate post-election blueprint if he emerges victorious: “On Tuesday, I will make a major offer to a major Champions League club for a player who would be the biggest transfer in the history of Madrid. 150 million euros at the very least.“
Having already confirmed incoming deals for manager Jose Mourinho, defender Ibrahima Konate, and right-back Denzel Dumfries, Perez teased that roster reinforcements would arrive “in many more positions,” while dropping highly specific clues about where the heavy financial artillery will be aimed. “The bid will be for a Cristiano Ronaldo or Kaka level player. He’s a Galactico… Naturally, it’s a player from the midfield forward. It’s not Haaland. The first thing we will do is talk to the club. Look, I’ll tell you: he is not from the Premier League. We will make the offer and see what happens,” he added.
Cristiano Ronaldo (L) receives from Real Madrid president Florentino Perez (R) his fourth Golden Boot.
When pressed on specific high-profile names, Pérez methodically eliminated several global stars from the equation. The most notable omission was Erling Haaland, a calculated dismissal that directly combats controversial claims made by rival candidate Enrique Riquelme, who claimed to have an agreement with the Manchester City striker. Perez also explicitly ruled out Michael Olise, Jeremy Doku, and Harry Kane as potential recipients of the record-breaking proposal.
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With Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior already anchoring the squad’s formidable attacking frontline, the long-standing club president, who has guided Los Blancos since launching his second tenure in 2009, was asked if spending that kind of capital on another offensive weapon was truly necessary. Perez simply left the door wide open, offering a classic Galáctico response: “Well, in Madrid, you always need more.“
Only a select few stars fit Perez’s record-breaking criteria
As it stands, English midfielder Jude Bellingham remains the most expensive acquisition in Real Madrid history, bypassing Eden Hazard, Gareth Bale, and Cristiano Ronaldo with a €103 million base fee paid to Borussia Dortmund that tops out at €127 million with performance add-ons. A €150 million offer would shatter that record, leaving only a microscopic shortlist of elite talents who command that valuation while clearing Perez’s strict filtering process.
Following the definitive exclusion of Premier League targets and any players from rival Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain’s midfield tandem of Joao Neves and Vitinha have quickly emerged as logical primary candidates. With both players currently holding an immense €140 million market valuation on Transfermarkt, Neves profiles somewhat similarly to current engine Federico Valverde, while Vitinha possesses the precise, elite deep-lying ball control that Madrid’s anchor roles currently lack.
Should Perez pivot toward pure attackers, though less statistically likely given the club’s current positional logjam up front, two other PSG stars fit the financial profile: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue. With the Georgian winger holding a €140 million market footprint and Doue valued at €120 million, they stand out as elite options, though an interior midfield signing remains the more pressing structural need for a restructured Mourinho squad.
