Paco González broke the story on COPE's Tiempo de Juego, saying the Real Madrid president was visibly annoyed to discover that the man he defeated in June's club elections was also among the guests at Atlético Madrid's stadium.
“Florentino Pérez got very angry that Enrique Riquelme was in the presidential box at the Metropolitano,” González said.
“Florentino kicks up an almighty fuss, asking what Riquelme is doing in the box.”
González was careful about how far the story went, telling COPE: “It really bothered him. The person who tells me says he ‘kicked up a fuss’, but I imagine he didn't start throwing bottles, though it's clear he took it badly.”
Juanma Castaño later gave more detail on COPE's El Partidazo. He said the row began at the pre-match lunch for directors in the anteroom of the box, and that Pérez was there because of his good relationship with Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo. According to Castaño, someone told Pérez during the lunch that Riquelme had been invited to the presidential box, and the reaction was immediate:
“Florentino Pérez flies into a rage and says he's off, that he's leaving. That if he crosses paths with Riquelme at any point he'll leave the box. They calm him down, Florentino stays for the match... but he kicks up an almighty fuss, asking what Riquelme is doing in the presidential box.”
Both accounts are the radio hosts' version of events, and the Marca report carried no response from Real Madrid or Riquelme.
The background explains the sensitivity. Riquelme, the founder of the energy company Cox, ran against Pérez in the Real Madrid presidential election on 7 June. Pérez won with 21,741 votes, or 65%, against 11,814 for Riquelme, according to the club's electoral board, and he will serve until 2030. The campaign followed a trophy-less season, and Pérez promised members he would bring José Mourinho back as coach.
Mourinho's side then lost the derby 2-1, a result that left Real Madrid fourth and six points behind Barcelona.