In 2006, Florentino Perez stepped down as Real Madrid president at a time when the team were going through a rough spell and weren’t at their usual best.
Three years later, he returned with the intention of putting Los Blancos back on top on a continental and worldwide stage and he has fulfilled it.
They have now reached seven consecutive European semi-finals and have qualified for their third Champions League final in the past four years.
Perez was determined to make history and has managed that and although he has been criticised for his management of the club at times, the results are on his side and he was also one of the few who believed in Zinedine Zidane.
Since 2000, the president’s main aim has been to make his club the top dog in Europe and nobody can question that dominance.
Ahead of them now is the challenge of achieving something that nobody else has done by defending their Champions League trophy.
Their purpose has always been to make history in that regard and they are now just one game away from achieving it.
Perez was keen to share in the joy with his staff moments after Real secured qualification at the Estadio Vicente Calderon and his embrace with Zidane would seem to suggest that the coach will remain at the club in the long term.
After all, the Frenchman is on the brink of delivering another European title in Cardiff as well as adding a long overdue LaLiga title, which they haven’t won since 2011.
At the moment, the president has overseen 17 trophy wins during his time at the helm, a figure which is set to increase in the coming months in what has become a golden age for Perez and Real.
