Former Real Madrid President Calderon blasts Florentino Perez for changing election rules

Thegoalmac can reveal that Ramon Calderon has blasted Real Madrid president Florentino Perez for changing the way in which potential candidates can challenge his position.

Recent alterations to the traditional campaigning procedure mean that any figure standing for election must have been a season ticket holder for a minimum of 25 years and be able to guarantee 15% of Madrid's operating budget, which stands at approximately €77 million.

 Calderon, who was president of the club between July 2006 and January 2009, believes those changes have made it difficult for anyone to usurp Perez, meaning they are no longer run in a democratic fashion.

“I’d rather talk about the good things that are happening at Real Madrid, but if you talk of the social way the club is being run then I’d say it isn’t good, neither for the club nor the president,” he told Sky Sports.

“He’s changed the by-laws and now nobody can dare to be president or to change things. That, as I said, is bad for the club because he didn’t need [to do] that. It’s not a democracy now. It should be. He is always saying the club is for the members but it is not."

Calderon's own reign at Madrid came to end when he resigned as a result of allegations over vote rigging, following claims he had manipulated the supposed financial budget he would install at the club.