Miquel Contestí, former president of RCE Mallorca, has died.

PalmBalearic football and RCD Mallorca fans are in mourning after learning this Friday that Miquel Contestí Cardell, the club's long-serving president, has died. Contestí, born in Arenal in 1933, led the club from 1978 to 1992 and is remembered as one of the most influential presidents in its history. Born and raised in Mallorca, Contestí played for Mallorca's youth teams and later as an amateur with the veterans before becoming involved in the club's management. He assumed the presidency at a critical time, with the club in the Third Division and facing serious financial problems that led to the interruption of basic services such as electricity and telephone. With his experience as a lawyer, Contestí focused on stabilizing the club's finances and, with the help of businessman Pablo Porta, secured a loan of 13 million pesetas (approximately €80,000) from the RFEF (Royal Spanish Football Federation), to be repaid over ten years without interest. This measure allowed Mallorca to survive and begin the recovery that would solidify the team's position as a leading force in Balearic football. His tenure at the helm of the club has left an indelible mark on the club's history and in the memory of its fans, who today remember Contestí as a symbol of Mallorcan identity and the club's resilience. Under his presidency, the team achieved three promotions to the First Division and laid the foundations for its consolidation in Spanish professional football. The culmination of that era came in 1991, when Mallorca reached its first-ever Copa del Rey final, a milestone "unthinkable years before" and a symbol of the sporting and institutional growth achieved during his tenure. Beyond the sporting results, Contestí stood out for his approach to the club: "approachable, austere, and deeply committed." "He was a president in the most classic sense of the word, who understood the position as a service, not an end in itself, and who knew how to maintain Mallorca's identity during a time of great difficulties and transformations in Spanish football," recalled RCE Mallorca. His figure represented "the last great president" of an era prior to the club's conversion into a public limited sports company, and his legacy served as a bridge between the traditional and modern Mallorca. Contestí was also a man deeply connected to football from a young age, knowledgeable about the club's history, and respected both on and off the island. That is why his name "remains alive in the collective memory of Mallorcan fans" and is recognized by generations of supporters, fan clubs, and the club itself as one of the great icons of its history. The death of Contestí at 92 years old has caused profound shock to Balearic sport and to all those who feel a deep connection to Mallorca, the club emphasized.

"His legacy is not measured solely by promotions or finals, but by the fact that he ensured the club's continued existence. Thanks to his courage and commitment, Real Club Deportivo Mallorca was able to survive, grow, and write some of the most important chapters in its history. His figure will forever be linked to that of the president, and his legacy will forever be linked to that of the one who restored hope," they stated.

For his part, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sports of the Balearic Government, Jaume Bauzà, expressed his condolences for Contestí's death in a message published on 'X'.