Jose Ángel Sánchez Periáñez (Villacastín, Segovia, 1967), the all-powerful general director of Real Madrid, who is called JAS, is Florentino Pérez’s right-hand man and the one who rules the club the most after the president despite being a great unknown to the fan
Having someone from the white club talk to you about JAS is not easy. He is known to be a reserved man, allergic to appearing on paper. He doesn’t speak in public. He does not grant interviews and rarely attends institutional events representing the club, the last one being on Friday in Dubai, at the Globe Soccer Awards gala. When approached he is affable and always discreet. But that is also one of the characteristics of Florentino Pérez’s board of directors, businessmen and lawyers who can walk calmly down the street without anyone recognizing them. Perhaps the only exception to this model has been Fernando Fernández Tapias, shipowner and president of the Madrid Business Confederation (CEIM), who died in October 2023 at the age of 84 and who for a time was a character in the tabloid press due to his relationship with the miss Spain Mar Flores.
The story of JAS is very different. Son of an engineer who worked at Iberpistas and a teacher from Collado Mediano, a town in the mountains of Madrid, JAS played soccer as a center forward in an amateur club, Atlético Los Leones. He studied Philosophy and Letters and his first paid job was at El Corte Inglés, where after two months he was already a plant manager. He joined SEGA, the Japanese multinational video game company, and in 1992, at the age of 27, he was already general director for Spain, a position he held until 1995, when he assumed general management for southern Europe, based in Lisbon (Portugal). ).
Signed to develop the marketing area, he is now the all-powerful general director
Florentino, upon becoming president of Real Madrid in 2000, signed him to develop the marketing area. Since then everything has been non-stop. But not only in the marketing area, far from it. JAS soon built his reputation as a achiever with all kinds of work, including trying to mediate, without success, so that José María García would stop criticizing Florentino, which he tried to achieve due to his good relations with senior officials at Unipublic, organizers of the Cycling Tour of Spain.
The importance of JAS skyrocketed in the sports field due to his good knowledge of English, which allowed him to be a fundamental part in the signing of David Beckham (the Galactico who most benefited the club when it came to negotiating upwards his commercial contracts). . Later he did the same with respect to Cristiano.
Little by little it became essential. So much so that when Florentino Pérez chose to leave in 2006, his successor, Ramón Calderón, kept him because he did not find anyone of similar worth in the club, not even remotely. Calderón saw it clearly immediately and moved JAS from marketing manager to general director of the presidency.
Sánchez was the fundamental man in the strategic signings of David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo
Florentino’s second term already sees JAS clearly as his right-hand man, especially starting in 2011, when he succeeds Jorge Valdano as general director. The Argentine was fired for his continuous clashes with Mourinho. Since that time JAS has been involved in the sports side and is (along with Ramón Martínez) in the president’s small group of advisors for everything. Florentino recognizes few skids. Perhaps the most notable was the hiring of Rafa Benítez as successor to Mou . The one from Madrid would last until January.
When Florentino Pérez was asked why he pays so much attention to JAS, this was his response: “Because I have not met anyone as intelligent as him.” It seems that if Florentino thinks of himself, as Fidel Castro said, that only history can judge him, only Florentino can judge José Ángel Sánchez (JAS).
Open day in Valdebebas
Real Madrid returns to training at 3 pm today and tomorrow it will hold its traditional open days so that members who have reserved tickets (they sold out within a few hours of being able to request them) can attend training in Valdebebas. The team travels to Valencia on Friday for the match postponed by the Dana and on Monday it makes its debut in the Cup against Deportiva Minera.
#JAS #Florentinos #hand #man
