The secret visits of Spanish businessmen to Juan Carlos I in Abu Dhabi (and his return to Spain)

On the weekend of July 7 to 9, the Spanish Sailing Cup is held in the waters of Sanxenxo, in which 6-meter boats compete, such as the Bribón de Peter Fields y Don Juan Carlos. At the Club Náutico in the Galician town there is talk of a possible participation of the king emeritus, who on his last visit last April was unable to participate in the regatta due to bad weather.

That last trip was, unlike the previous one, in May 2022, of absolute discretion, without greetings, without answers to journalists’ questions and without leaving the house of Pedro Campos, the unconditional friend where the former monarch stays when is in Galicia

Scrupulously following the conditions demanded by Zarzuela to allow him to set foot in Spain, this last stay of Juan Carlos I in Galicia opens the door to other trips by the former head of state to his country, from which he chose to leave in 2020, so that his love and financial scandals would not further damage the image of the Crown. On the other hand, the king needs to train at the helm of the Rascal, since he is expected to contest the world cup of 6 meter class sailboats on the Isle of Wight at the end of August.

Juan Carlos I could begin to normalize his trips to Spain, although he does not come as much as he would like. They tell us that he “is always looking forward to coming back.” He misses his friends, his favorite restaurants, hunts and regattas. However, he has a series of unconditional friends who visit him in Abu Dhabi, and up to now we have not known his names.

The president of Atlético de Madrid, Enrique Cerezo, also successful film producer, and businessman Arturo Fernandez, former president of the Madrid employers’ association, have traveled on occasion, to the capital of the United Arab Emirates, in Cerezo’s private plane, only to have dinner with the emeritus and return to Spain the same night. A gesture of friendship at a high economic cost and much generosity on his part.

Juan Carlos I is from Real Madrid but he is a close friend of the president of Atlético

Arturo Fernandez He is a very close friend of the King, with whom he shared hunts throughout Spain and the world for years. This hospitality businessman, who has been in charge of the catering of Las Cortes and other public entities, lived closely the relationship of Corinna Larsen and the monarch and came to travel with the German princess to a business forum in St. Petersburg, where Corinna introduced him to Vladimir Putin.

Also read: Don Juan Carlos ends the wedding of the Jordanian prince in a wheelchair: the image that terrifies him

In the book King Corp, signed by journalists Javier del Olmo and David Fernandezdetails the interest in exclusive brands of high-end cars that they shared Juan Carlos I y Arturo Fernandez, to the point that the king sold some of these models to the Madrid businessman, who collects and keeps them, in a Canto Blanco ship, his shooting range on the outskirts of Madrid. The book also reveals that sometimes the monarch resold them, getting a good financial return on these transactions.