Pérez remains Real president
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David Alaba was missing from Real Madrid’s star ensemble for 399 days. Now the former Bayern player has returned to the pitch after tearing his cruciate ligament. Overjoyed and very emotional, the 32-year-old defender celebrated his comeback in the Royals’ uniform. “I can’t say how much I missed that feeling. I missed going on the pitch, especially at home, helping my teammates and then celebrating with our fans,” wrote the Austrian after the 4-1 win against UD Las Palmas in a post on platform X. Alaba came into the game for Antonio Rüdiger (76th) to great applause.
“After more than a year, I can now do what I love most again. It was a long road, but every single day of hard work was worth it,” continued Alaba. He thanked his family, friends, team and fans for sticking by him during this time.
Mbappé on Alaba: “An incredible guy”
Real Madrid had taken the top spot in LaLiga again thanks to a brace from French superstar Kylian Mbappé against Las Palmas. Mbappé was also happy about Alaba’s return. “Incredible, I knew him as a rival, it was very difficult to play against him. I know it was difficult for him to be away but we are really happy for him, he is an incredible guy and he has quality. He will be an important player for us.”
However, Real also had to overcome an early scare in the game. Fábio Silva gave the underdog the lead after just one minute. Then Mbappé turned up the heat. He equalized with a penalty kick (18th) and made it 3-1 (36th) from the game. Brahim Díaz had previously shot Madrid into the lead (33′). Another goal from Mbappé was disallowed due to an offside position (42nd). Rodrygo (57th) increased further after the break. Things then got even worse for Las Palmas, as substitute Benito Ramírez was shown a red card after a hard tackle (64′).
Pérez will remain president of Real Madrid until 2029
After the game, it was also decided that Florentino Pérez would remain president of Real until 2029. The 77-year-old is entering his fifth consecutive term in office; there was no opposing candidate. Pérez first held the post from 2000 to 2006 before returning in 2009 – until today. Under the native Madrilenian, who restructured the club economically after taking over again, Los Blancos won, among other things, seven Champions League titles and seven championships.