In 2026, three months separated the presidential elections of FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF, culminating in the re-election of Joan Laporta and Florentino Pérez. Despite both clubs being fully owned by their members, their election processes and voting transparency showed significant differences.
At Barcelona, any member could request up to 4,674 ballots for free to gather the 2,337 valid signatures of members with their DNI number as the sole requirement to qualify as a candidate. The signature collection period was from February 16 to March 2. At Real Madrid, from the official call on May 14, candidate Enrique Riquelme had only nine days, until May 23, to obtain a bank guarantee from Andbank España amounting to €193.7 million—15% of the club’s total budget—to qualify.
Membership tenure requirements differed: Real Madrid requires 20 uninterrupted years for the president, 15 for vice president, and 10 for director roles; Barcelona requires 10 years for president and five for director.
The campaign lasted 35 days in Barcelona (from February 9 to March 15), while in Madrid it lasted 26 days (May 14 to June 7); Riquelme had only 15 days from the bank guarantee to campaign.
A key procedural difference: Barcelona’s statutes require the president seeking re-election to step down during the election, which Laporta complied with alongside nine directors, leaving Rafa Yuste as interim president. Conversely, Pérez remained president throughout the campaign.
Debates and election-day reflection periods were held only in Barcelona, where two face-to-face debates between Laporta and Víctor Font occurred. Madrid had no debates and allowed campaign activities the day before the election.
Voting facilities also differed: Barcelona’s main voting site was the Spotify Camp Nou with additional venues in Tarragona, Lleida, Girona, and Andorra; Madrid’s sole site was the club’s Sports City. Postal voting with a notary was decisive in Madrid but used only in 2021 in Barcelona due to the pandemic.
Regarding transparency, Barcelona updated voter turnout hourly on election day. Madrid released data only twice at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., and the final count was announced at 2:12 a.m. with no official intermediate updates.
Media coverage contrasted as well: Barcelona's YouTube broadcast ran non-stop from 9 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., while Real Madrid TV aired alternative programming during the election night.
Vote counting in Barcelona was gradual and officially communicated; in Madrid, unofficial leaks suggested Pérez surpassed 65% but no official tallies were shared until the final result.
The final results came at 11:59 p.m. in Barcelona, whereas in Madrid they were announced after 2 a.m.
These distinctions reveal differing election requirements, campaign durations, media engagement, voting methods, and transparency levels between the two clubs.
