General Disassembly

At last December's AGM, Ramón Calderón managed to avert a coup to his fledgling presidency but could not deliver a reform to the entity's statutes, especially regarding the management of postal voting in presidential elections. It is essential that the controversy which dogged the early months of his presidency and which was finally resolved in the courts cannot happen again.

The club is bullish about the club's performance over the past year, claiming it as "the best fiscal year in its history" with €351 million in ordinary revenue (20% up), €83 million in earnings (EBITDA, 43% up) and profit of €44 million before tax. It seems clear that the club's finances are sound and the structure put in place by former president Florentino Pérez to run the club as a modern business is reaping the rewards. However, there is concern in the Real Madrid blogosphere (see El Triangular Madridista in particular) that good results should not overshadow a number of questions that need answers, aside from the reform of the electoral process:

• Accurate transfer figures (including commissions) for players arriving and leaving this season.
  
• Detailed explanations on the allegations of electoral corruption in a Telecinco documentary last June.
  
• Clarification of the club's sporting management structure. Who is in charge of what? Mijatovic? Portugal?
  
• Plans to make the Bernabéu stadium once again fit to host the Champions' League final.
  
• Detailed accounting of the board of directors' expenditure, which supposedly has matched in 6 months that of the administration of the previous 6 years.

More details next week.