Lorenzo Sanz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 14thPresident of Real Madrid | |
| In office 26 November 1995 – 16 July 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Ramón Mendoza |
| Succeeded by | Florentino Pérez |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lorenzo Sanz Mancebo (1943-08-09)9 August 1943 |
| Died | 21 March 2020(2020-03-21) (aged 76) Madrid, Spain |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 5, includingLorenzo,Paco andFernando |
| Relatives | Míchel Salgado (son-in-law) |
| Occupation | Real estate developer |
| Known for | President of Real Madrid and owner ofMálaga |
Lorenzo Sanz Mancebo (9 August 1943 – 21 March 2020) was a Spanishbusinessman who was the 14thPresident of Real Madrid and a former owner ofMálaga.
He was born in August 1943 in a humble family in Madrid, being the eldest of ten siblings. During his youth, he was a goalkeeper for several soccer teams in Madrid, such as Puerta Bonita.[1] He began his business career with a wallpaper factory. He was linked to Fuerza Nueva, an extreme right-wing party for which he managed advertising. Married to María Luz Durán Muñoz, he was the father of five children. The first son, Lorenzo, was a basketball player and played two seasons with Real Madrid's first team and later as technical director of the section for two seasons. The following sons, Paco -who played eight games in the First Division- and Fernando -who played four seasons with Real Madrid's first team and seven with Málaga-, were soccer players and later presidents of Granada Club de Fútbol and Málaga Club de Fútbol, respectively. Their daughters are María Luz "Malula" (1975), who is married to former Real Madrid player Míchel Salgado, and Diana (1977).[2][3][4]
In 1985, Sanz leftBlas Piñar's notary and was appointed as a member of the board of directors of Real Madrid, chaired by Ramón Mendoza, while he shifted his professional activities towards the real-estate sector by joining the Swiss Jose Antonio Roth, a wealthy developer who controlled the real-estate development companyBarada ("Grupo Barada").[5] Sanz would borrow funds from Grupo Barada to acquire land through his own companies (Nuada and Renfisa) and then use his influence through Real Madrid's presidential box, frequently visited by politicians and the spanish jet set. Once permission had been gained, the land was sold back to Barada.[6] In 1995 Lorenzo Sanz became president of Real Madrid after covering, with the economic support of Barada, the majority of the 1,045 million pesetas of financial guarantees required byLaLiga.[7] During the 2000s Lorenzo Sanz was attributed a net worth of 20,000 million pesetas (120 million euros),[8] below Roth's wealth, who managed his controlling stake in Grupo Barada through the shell companyMerenco Capital B.V., registered in the Netherlands. In the early 2000s, after Mr. Sanz lost the elections of Real Madrid, he was sued by Grupo Barada (under new management, after Mr. Roth's dismissal as chairman) to which Mr. Sanz's companies owed around 43 million. In 2008, Barada sued Mr. Sanz under alleged fraud, corporate crime, and asset concealment over a land parcel that Mr. Sanz sold in 2003 to Barada's subsidiary Numan for 10 millon, and which he allegedly sold again in 2004 to another developer for 53 million.[9] In 2018, he was sentenced by the Provincial Court of Madrid to 3 years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of 1.2 million euros for the “intentional” concealment of almost six million euros from the tax authorities in his income tax returns for the years 2008 and 2009.[10]
Sanz was a director ofReal Madrid from 1985 to 1995. He then becamePresident of Real Madrid on 26 November 1995 afterRamón Mendoza was forced to resign due to the economic, social, and sporting problems of the club. Sanz tried to turn the club around by bringing in star players likeDavor Šuker andPredrag Mijatović with his own money. This led to a long-awaitedUEFA Champions League victory, which Real Madrid had not won since1966, as the club won both the1998 and2000 finals.[11]
Following the two Champions League trophies, Sanz decided to hold an early election to the club presidency in 2000, but eventually lost toFlorentino Pérez, and vacated the presidency on July 16.[12][11] He then tried unsuccessfully twice to regain his former position as the president of Real Madrid, and failed in a bid to take overParma.[12]
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(July 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Between June 2005 and January 2006, Sanz was negotiating with Italian clubParma inAmministrazione Straordinaria to become the club's new owner. Guido Angiolini and Enrico Bondi, the two officers appointed by the Italian government to restore Parma, and its main sponsorParmalat, were the two people involved in the operations with Sanz. The first time Parma announced negotiations with Sanz was in August 2005. Both President Angiolini and government-appointed administrator Enrico Bondi asked for €27.5 million, but the negotiations were not as smooth as some predicted.
Until January 2006, the Sanz family was still transacting business with Bondi and Angiolini, but to no avail. In an interview withGazzetta dello Sport in January 2006, President Angiolini stated that, "If, by the 16th, the deal with the Sanz family has not been closed, we will set about finding a new buyer." Sanz had seemed the most likely buyer of the club in August 2005 when he made an initial payment of €7.5 million ($9.07 million) on the full price of €27.5 million. However, he did not pay the outstanding €20 million. Parma administrators stated that after 16 January 2006, the club was free to find other interested buyers as the contract with Sanz expired on 15 January 2006.
Other interested buyers included the owner of Spain's Alamak Espana Trade,Russian oligarch Abram Reznikov. The uncertainty over the club's future had become a source of increasing frustration for Parma supporters. The deal with Sanz was a big dilemma for the Parma fans. In some papers, this deal was referred to as "The never ending story." Parma supporters were longing for a positive ending. Sanz visited Parma a couple of times, and he even turned up at theStadio Ennio Tardini to follow some of Parma's matches inSerie A. Because of his withdrawal from the deal and failure to pay the rest of the sum of €20.5 million, Lorenzo Sanz Senior and Lorenzo Sanz Junior lost much of their credibility.
Sanz announced in 2006 that he was putting himself up for election once again for the vacant President's position atReal Madrid, losing it toRamón Calderón.
In July 2006, Sanz purchasedMálaga. He sold the club in 2010 to aQatari investor for a sum of €50 million.[13]
In May 2008, it was reported that he was looking to buy Italian clubBari,[14] and that the Bari owners had given him ten days to close the deal, which was rumored to be around €15 million.[15]
Sanz was the father-in-law of formerReal Madrid andSpain national team defenderMíchel Salgado, who married his daughter Malula. Sanz's two sons,Paco andFernando, and his grandsonPaco Sanz Mora, were also professionalfootballers.[16] As the owner ofMálaga, he entrusted Fernando with the presidency of the club.[11]
Sanz died in the evening of 21 March 2020 at the age of 76, after testing positive forCOVID-19.[11][17]
