Enrique Cerezo is best known in Spain as the longtime president of Atletico Madrid, the less glamorous cross-town rivals of Real Madrid.

But he is also a powerful film producer who owns the rights to some 7,000 movies, including around 70 percent of all flicks ever made in Spain, which feed his streaming platform FlixOle — the first to specialise in Spanish cinema.

Success in the two fields is measured differently, said Cerezo, who has led Atletico Madrid to six European titles and four Spanish ones since he took over as president of the Spanish first division side in 2003.

“You release a film on a Friday and on Monday you know whether it’s going to work or not, whereas in football you test yourself every week,” the silver-haired 75-year-old told AFP at the headquarters of his film business near Madrid.

His first experiences with film came during his high school years in Segovia, a town some 80 kilometres (50 miles) northwest of Madrid, where he would help screen movies at the school’s cinema on weekends.

“Between studying and having the possibility of being able to manage this whole projection system, I preferred to be there,” Cerezo said.

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