Florentino Pérez has not been able to cope with the neighbours' reaction to the noise at Bernabéu and Real Madrid is going to lose a lot of money.
400 Million Annually Now at Risk
Just as Laporta's deal with Barça Studios went wrong, Florentino's deal with Bernabéu went wrong. The club was hoping to earn 400 million euros this season.
That is the figure that the club offered at the presentation of the remodelling of the new Bernabéu.
Things started well with Taylor Swift's two concerts, which brought in 9 million. They continued to get better with the 18 million that Karol G's four concerts brought to Real Madrid.
The business seemed to be doing well and growing, but the complaints from the neighbors became too loud. The city council was forced to listen to the neighbours and close Bernabéu, temporarily, for non-sporting events.
Florentino Pérez's Boost
For Florentino Pérez, the exploitation of the stadium is what Joan Laporta would call a boost.
In this case, it was based on the agreement reached with the investment fund Sixth Street. Florentino sold 30% of the business for 20 years' time. In exchange he received 360 million that were used for the reform.
The remaining 70% of the exploitation was for Real Madrid, minus the costs of the artists, setting up the stadium and maintenance. In that 70% that Real Madrid reserved, a minimum fixed amount of 150 million euros per year was guaranteed. All very nice.
Out of these amounts, Real Madrid has allocated 60 million annually for 30 years to pay the debt for the works on the new stadium.
Sixth Street Has 30% of Nothing
The problem comes when Sixth Street confirms that its 30% stake is worthless if events cannot be organized at Bernabéu. For Real Madrid, the halt in macro-parking project, which was going to be a very important source of income, is also a hard blow.
There have been no concerts at Bernabéu since September. This is the result of pressure from the Asociación de Perjudicados del Bernabéu (Association of People Damaged by Bernabéu). It was something more than "two ladies with a handbag and a coat" as they had anticipated, according to one of its promoters.
The exploitation of Bernabéu, once the works were finished, was going to become one of the most important items in the budget. Without this income, the club sees its viability and its sporting project affected.
The Mayor's Version
In fact, these concerts must have accounted for around a third of the income of the club.
Things are looking bad. El País reports today that, the way the stadium is now, "it is impossible to hold another concert there."
"Things started off badly but I think they are getting better. Bernabéu being a good project, it cannot be incompatible with the rest and well-being of the residents," Martínez-Almeida said a few days ago on El Hormiguero.
He added: "We'll see what happens after these adaptation works. But the city council will maintain its position on this. It cannot disturb the rest and well-being of the residents, but it's a necessary infrastructure for the city."
No News from the VIP Macro-Club Overlooking Madrid
But there's more: the problems with SkyBar. It is a the 700-meter (2297 feet) VIP superbox that Florentino Pérez boasts about in the upper part of the stadium.
It is a restaurant-discotheque for handsome people with views of Madrid. It was supposed to open six months ago and was never heard of again.
El Confidencial reports that Anastasia Gourmet, the company that owns the exploitation rights, has sued Real Madrid for 16.5 million euros for breach of contract. The space has not been completed and cannot be used.