Election campaign 

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“I will shortly, on Tuesday, make an offer to a Champions League club that will be the highest sum Real Madrid has ever paid for a player – at least 150 million.” With these words, Florentino Pérez caused a stir on the programme “Horizonte” on the Spanish channel CUATRO. The 79-year-old club president is currently campaigning for the presidency of Los Blancos. On Friday, The Telegraph in London and AS in Madrid reported that his target player is Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise – but a transfer is by no means certain.

“It’s not (Jérémy) Doku, not (Michael) Olise and not (Erling) Haaland, nor (Harry) Kane,” said Pérez, adding that the player does not play in the Premier League. Much therefore pointed to the player being a Paris Saint-Germain professional, as the world’s most valuable players are all under contract in England, Munich, Paris or with arch-rivals Barcelona, who categorically rule out transfers to Real. However, this assessment was called into question on Friday when several media reports once again brought Olise into the picture.

The Madrid side, who have just come through a trophy-less season, have spent over €100 million on a new signing three times in their club history – most recently in 2024 for former Dortmund player Jude Bellingham. Pérez announced that he would submit the bid in any case, provided the majority of Real members eligible to vote support him. In Munich, however, the interest from Spain is unlikely to cause any concern just yet. There are several reasons for this.

Bayern do not want to sell Michael Olise

For one thing, Bayern officials have been repeating like a mantra for months that they have no interest in selling the Bundesliga’s best playmaker. Honorary President Uli Hoeneß made it clear in March that even €200 million would not be enough. Supervisory board member Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said in April: “For a player like Olise, there is no price tag that would make us flinch.” And sporting director Max Eberl recently stated: “Michael has a contract with us until 2029, with no release clause – we’re relaxed.”

Added to this is the fact that Pérez deliberately made these statements publicly and did not leave the timing to chance. On 7 June, i.e. this coming Sunday, Real’s presidential elections are due to take place, and the battle for votes with his opponent Enrique Riquelme has been ongoing for weeks. Riquelme had only recently announced a transfer for Erling Haaland should he win the election.

On Thursday evening, Pérez described this statement as a lie, only to announce a major new signing himself shortly afterwards: “Everyone has denied it – the father, the agent, the club. It’s a bluff. There are plenty of bluffs in this election campaign. I don’t want people who destabilise the club.”

The difference between Riquelme’s and Pérez’s statements, however, lies in the details. Whilst the former claimed to have already sealed the transfer behind the scenes, Pérez merely spoke of a planned offer. It is highly likely that the €150 million mentioned will not be enough for Olise. Should Munich reject the bid, the 79-year-old could not be accused of not having tried.

“Pérez always chooses his words carefully. He could also have said that he would definitely buy Olise. Instead, he only spoke of an offer. I do think he will try and would like to have Olise at Real Madrid, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll go all-in for it,” explains Iván Fuente, TM Area Manager for Spain.