Florentino Pérez (born 1947)
Born 1947 CE.
Florentino Pérez Rodríguez (Spanish pronunciation: [floɾenˈtino ˈpeɾeθ roˈðɾiɣeθ]; born 8 March 1947) is a Spanish businessman and politician. He is the president of the football club Real Madrid, as well as chairman and CEO of ACS Group, a civil engineering company. Pérez began his professional career in the private sector in 1971 and was a member of the political parties Union of the Democratic Centre and the secretary-general of the Democratic Reformist Party, from 1979 to 1986. He has been president of Real Madrid from 2000 to 2006 and from 2009 onwards. During his first six years as president, he implemented the Galácticos policy of bringing the world's best players to Real Madrid. In his first four seasons in charge, he bought Luís Figo from arch-rivals Barcelona, Zinedine Zidane for a then-world record transfer fee, Ronaldo, and David Beckham. From the 2003–04 season to the 2005–06 season, the club did not win a trophy, leading Pérez to resign in 2006. He assumed office again in 2009 and restarted the Galácticos policy. He brought to the club Kaká, Xabi Alonso, Karim Benzema, and Cristiano Ronaldo, the latter for a then-world record fee, followed by Gareth Bale in 2013.
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