Lorenzo Sanz

Lorenzo Sanz Mancebo (born April 19, 1943 in Madrid, Spain) is a Spanish business man, a former president of Real Madrid and now owner of Málaga CF, where his son Fernando (a former player with Real Madrid and Málaga) is the club's president.

Early life

In his youth he played as a goalkeeper for several minor league Madrilenian teams, including "Puerta Bonita". An astute businessman, he made his fortune in real estate and construction.

Real Madrid President

He was director of Real Madrid from 1985 to 1995. Sanz became chairman of Real Madrid on November 26 1995 after Ramón 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 like Davor Suker and Predrag Mijatovic with his own money. This led to a long awaited European Cup victory, which Real Madrid had not won since 1966, as the club clinched both the 1998 and 2000 tournaments, now named the UEFA Champions League.

However, the two UEFA Champions League triumphs were not enough to hide the financial problems that still plagued the club and in elections a few weeks after the 2000 final, he lost the presidency to Florentino Pérez.

Negotiations with Parma FC

Between June 2005 and January 2006, Sanz was negotiating with Parma FC in "Amministrazione Straordinaria" to become the club's new owner. Guido Angiolini and Enrico Bondi, the two officers appointed by the Italian government to restore Parma FC, and its main sponsor Parmalat, were the two persons involved in the operations with Lorenzo Sanz. The first time Parma FC announced negotiations with Sanz was in August, 2005. Both President Guido 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 with "Gazzetta 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 has seemed the most likely buyer of the club since last August when he made an initial payment of 7.5 million euros ($9.07 million) on the full price of 27.5 million. However, he has not yet paid the outstanding 20 million. Parma FC administrators stated that after the 16th of January 2006 the club is free to find other interested buyers as the conract with Lorenzo Sanz expired on the 15th January 2006. The uncertainty over the club's future has become a source of increasing frustration for Parma supporters. The deal with Lorenzo Sanz was a big dilemma for Parma supporters. In some papers this deal was referred to as "The never ending story". The Parma FC supporters were longing for a positive ending. Lorenzo Sanz visited Parma for a couple of times, and he even turned up at the Tardini Stadium to follow some of Parma's matches in Serie A. Because of his withdrawal from the deal and failure to pay the rest of the sum of 20.5 million, Lorenzo Sanz Mancebo and Lorenzo Sanz Junior lost much of their credibility.

Later Years

Sanz has recently announced that he will put himself up for election once again for the vacant President's position at Real Madrid, losing it to Ramón Calderón.

On July 2006, he purchased Málaga CF.

In May 2008, it has been reported that he is looking to buy Italian club A.S. Bari [ [http://www.tuttomercatoweb.com/index.php?action=read&id=102108 TUTTO MERCATO WEB - Bari, Sanz interessato all'acquisto ] ] , and that the Bari owners have given him 10 days to close the deal, which is rumored to be around 15 million euro. [ [http://www.tuttomercatoweb.com/index.php?action=read&id=105398 TUTTO MERCATO WEB - Bari, ultimatum a Sanz ] ]

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