Florentino Perez Facing Reported Presidency Challenge from Raul, Fernando Hierro

A group of Real Madrid legends including Fernando Hierro, Raul and Manuel Sanchis will reportedly challenge incumbent president Florentino Perez for the position when elections take place in 2017.

A. Alcazar of Catalonia-based newspaper Sport cited Soy Madridista as a source, claiming the "candidacy composed of former players" will look to topple Perez after growing concerned with the club's trajectory.

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Alcazar wrote that Raul, Hierro and Sanchis would look to employ a similar structure to that of Bayern Munich, where a board takes influence from a group of members and a "company led by former players."

It's been a difficult 2015-16 season for Real Madrid under Rafa Benitez, and even in the face of a 4-1 win over Getafe on Saturday, Goal's Ben Hayward attested to boos and a "strange atmosphere" at the Bernabeu:

In his report, Alcazar mentioned Perez's previous attempts to limit presidential candidates exclusively to multi-millionaires, a move that could have risked isolating the board from the fans. In contrast, promoting former players to leading positions would only strengthen the bond between the parties.

A group of Raul, Hierro and Sanchis would undoubtedly find its pockets of support among the fans, with the trio boasting a combined tally of more than 2,000 appearances for Los Merengues, according to their official club profiles.

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It's often the case that those with emotional links to the club, players who have devoted decades of their lives to the cause, are best-placed to have a say in its running. Perhaps Bayern's success can be considered an example of how that structure can work well.

However, it's not just disharmony within the club that Perez is alleged to have issues, and Spanish football writer Rafael Hernandez has reported the bond—or lack thereof—with other La Liga outfits has caused friction:

Real Madrid have built a reputation of spending big money on foreign talents, but domestic players are the foundation of any club, and so those relationships with Real's peers are good for business and the club's future.

It's mentioned that Raul intends to remain living in New York "for family reasons" until the elections take place in 2017, having recently retired from the sport altogether following ventures outside his native Spain.

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Momentum has gradually been building against Real, who currently sit four points off the La Liga summit and last month suffered a 4-0 embarrassment at home to Barcelona in El Clasico.

The club have also been ejected from the Copa del Rey for fielding the ineligible Denis Cheryshev in the round of 32. But beIN Sports commentator Ray Hudson pointed this out as but the latest error, citing the failed summer move for Spain No. 1 David De Gea, too:

A group comprising figures as celebrated as Raul and Hierro could very much be considered a genuine threat to Perez's role, and huge changes are now on the horizon at Real Madrid.