Florentino Pérez: "I present myself with the same enthusiasm as in the year 2000"
The president of Real Madrid was interviewed by Josep Pedrerol on laSexta.
The president of Real Madrid, Florentino Pérez, was interviewed by Josep Pedrerol on laSexta a day after announcing the call for elections. The president stated: "I am a bit shocked by the situation and by the disproportionate criticism in the media that does not correspond to reality, neither in economic nor sporting terms."
"The rumors hurt me, both personal ones and those about the club. The club has enormous economic, institutional, social, and sporting health."
You have won more European Cups than Barça.
"Throughout their entire history, of course. During my years, we have won more European Cups because we’ve won six in ten years. But that seems insufficient for some. What kind of country are we living in?"
Is it an orchestrated campaign?
"Orchestrated by some journalists. I endure everything, but it’s true that it’s very difficult to coexist with the owners of Real Madrid, who are the members, in this hostile atmosphere. So I said: 'That's it, we are calling elections.' I want to continue and win many more European Cups."
Do you feel strong enough to continue?
“How could I not feel strong enough? Are you also going to believe that I’m sick? What is this?”.
Seven European Cups is extraordinary.
“And 66 titles are extraordinary as well.”
When neither La Liga nor the Champions League is won in two years, do you understand why people question what’s happening with Madrid?
“We’ve come to undervalue what we have. Last year we won two titles: the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup. Does that not count anymore? Then all the teams in Europe should just give up. Bayern Munich, PSG, Manchester United, City... Let’s not take this to the absurd. There’s an orchestrated campaign by someone who wants to influence Madrid. And at Madrid, I ran for president 26 years ago with the sole purpose of ensuring that the members are the owners. Because this is not a club that has a single owner. I’m not the owner. The members of Madrid are the owners.”
Why have you decided to call elections now if there’s no urgency?
“Because of this situation of permanent and growing instability created by some journalists. If there are people who want to run, I’m giving them the opportunity now to come forward and show who they are, what their lives have been like, what their businesses are, and to get to know them. I’ve never earned a single euro from Madrid. I guaranteed a lot of money so the players could get paid, and since then, we’ve had the best economic, sporting, and social years. What more do they want me to do?”.
Enrique Riquelme has sent a letter asking you for dialogue and to postpone the elections.
“I don’t know, I haven’t received it. When elections were called in the year 2000, I didn’t ask for more time. I ran and I won.”
Were you worried about the Bernabéu booing you or chants of 'Florentino, resignation'?
“Why would I be worried? I’ve been here for a quarter of a century. It’s not the first time it’s happened to me. But I have to be loyal to the owners because I’m not the owner. And I don’t want this kind of atmosphere. I want, if there’s a bad atmosphere, for candidates to come forward and that’s it.”
People expected that with Mbappé, Madrid would be even better.
“This year we didn’t perform as we wanted. But I’ll also tell you one thing: I think the root of all this lies in the Club World Cup, where we didn’t have a preseason, which led to 28 injuries after we changed the coach, and now we’ve had so many more. And we haven’t been able to recover physically because playing Wednesday and Sunday causes injuries, and we didn’t have the adequate physical condition. But we finished second. So, what should Atleti do? And what should Manchester United do in the Premier League? We cannot tolerate this.”
Yesterday we saw a different Florentino.
“A Florentino, let’s say, upset with the manipulation by some media outlets.
They aimed for me to resign and not run again. And they got it wrong because I’m going to run again with the same enthusiasm as when I ran in 2000.”
Are the ultras still around?
“People from abroad congratulate me because we don’t have ultras. It’s a European problem, as you know. They shouldn’t be in a football stadium. And if others haven’t been able to get rid of them, I have. And that ties in with mafia organizations selling tickets. This year, we expelled 1,600 Real Madrid members who were trafficking tickets.”
Barça threatens to sue you.
“Well, they would be doing the right thing if they believe they should.”
You said that leagues had been stolen from you.
“It’s a way of speaking. Here, it’s easier to win a Champions League than a league. I didn’t know about the Negreira case until three years ago. That investigation wasn’t initiated by Madrid but by the tax authorities, which suspected something unusual. A criminal process was then opened, and Madrid was the first to present itself as an aggrieved party. What Barça has acknowledged is that they paid that money to the vice president of referees. But do they say for what? Well, to fight against Madrid, as they’ve admitted. Then they say they made reports. Those reports don’t exist. The coaches have spoken and said they haven’t seen those reports. Well, as they say here in Madrid, it’s clear as day. But justice must be done.”
Do you speak to Ceferin about this issue?
“I’ve spoken, and he knows we’re going to present a dossier next week. That’s fine, we’re within our rights. La Liga becomes involved and doesn’t ask questions; then it’s complicit in this matter because it says nothing. And the president of the Referees’ Committee says we should forget about it, that it happened a long time ago. Forget about it? But the world is waiting for the resolution of the biggest corruption case in football history. It’s systemic corruption, as the investigating judge said.”
The ruling on concerts at the Bernabéu.
“Real Madrid has no responsibility. That’s what they’ve conveyed. So now we’re going to negotiate with the Community. I understand that Madrid is very powerful, and some people don’t want to live with that power. But we have a stadium, and events are held everywhere. Now the pope is coming, and he also wants to be at the Bernabéu. We’re working on soundproofing and on everything the Community has asked of us. We don’t make money from concerts. It’s a reputational matter.”
Will concerts return to the Bernabéu?
“I think so. And very soon, after this resolution.”
Has all of this hurt you?
“Well, yes, it hurts. Like the parking lots. The parking lots were for residents because the City Council requested them. We were investing a hundred million for the residents, and they didn’t want them. It’s the first time I’ve encountered this. Those neighbors who go against Madrid, I have to think they’re from Atleti. We’re unlucky. Well, we’ll just use the ones already built at the Bernabéu, which are for Madrid.”
Do you like Mourinho?
“I like all coaches. Mourinho was with us and elevated our competitiveness. From there, we won these six European Cups in ten years. What can City do? Shoot themselves? And Manchester United? And Milan? Because they haven’t won a European Cup in I don’t know how many years.”
Do players have too much power at Madrid?
“The coaches are in charge. The players don’t have power. How could they have too much? I’ve never interfered. I’ve never spoken to any player.”
Do you feel strong enough to continue?
“How could I not feel strong enough? Are you also going to believe that I’m sick? What is this?”.
Seven European Cups is extraordinary.
“And 66 titles are extraordinary as well.”
When neither La Liga nor the Champions League is won in two years, do you understand why people question what’s happening with Madrid?
“We’ve come to undervalue what we have. Last year we won two titles: the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup. Does that not count anymore? Then all the teams in Europe should just give up. Bayern Munich, PSG, Manchester United, City... Let’s not take this to the absurd. There’s an orchestrated campaign by someone who wants to influence Madrid. And at Madrid, I ran for president 26 years ago with the sole purpose of ensuring that the members are the owners. Because this is not a club that has a single owner. I’m not the owner. The members of Madrid are the owners.”
Why have you decided to call elections now if there’s no urgency?
“Because of this situation of permanent and growing instability created by some journalists. If there are people who want to run, I’m giving them the opportunity now to come forward and show who they are, what their lives have been like, what their businesses are, and to get to know them. I’ve never earned a single euro from Madrid. I guaranteed a lot of money so the players could get paid, and since then, we’ve had the best economic, sporting, and social years. What more do they want me to do?”.
Enrique Riquelme has sent a letter asking you for dialogue and to postpone the elections.
“I don’t know, I haven’t received it. When elections were called in the year 2000, I didn’t ask for more time. I ran and I won.”
Were you worried about the Bernabéu booing you or chants of 'Florentino, resignation'?
“Why would I be worried? I’ve been here for a quarter of a century. It’s not the first time it’s happened to me. But I have to be loyal to the owners because I’m not the owner. And I don’t want this kind of atmosphere. I want, if there’s a bad atmosphere, for candidates to come forward and that’s it.”
People expected that with Mbappé, Madrid would be even better.
“This year we didn’t perform as we wanted. But I’ll also tell you one thing: I think the root of all this lies in the Club World Cup, where we didn’t have a preseason, which led to 28 injuries after we changed the coach, and now we’ve had so many more. And we haven’t been able to recover physically because playing Wednesday and Sunday causes injuries, and we didn’t have the adequate physical condition. But we finished second. So, what should Atleti do? And what should Manchester United do in the Premier League? We cannot tolerate this.”
Yesterday we saw a different Florentino.
“A Florentino, let’s say, upset with the manipulation by some media outlets.
They aimed for me to resign and not run again. And they got it wrong because I’m going to run again with the same enthusiasm as when I ran in 2000.”
Are the ultras still around?
“People from abroad congratulate me because we don’t have ultras. It’s a European problem, as you know. They shouldn’t be in a football stadium. And if others haven’t been able to get rid of them, I have. And that ties in with mafia organizations selling tickets. This year, we expelled 1,600 Real Madrid members who were trafficking tickets.”
Barça threatens to sue you.
“Well, they would be doing the right thing if they believe they should.”
You said that leagues had been stolen from you.
“It’s a way of speaking. Here, it’s easier to win a Champions League than a league. I didn’t know about the Negreira case until three years ago. That investigation wasn’t initiated by Madrid but by the tax authorities, which suspected something unusual. A criminal process was then opened, and Madrid was the first to present itself as an aggrieved party. What Barça has acknowledged is that they paid that money to the vice president of referees. But do they say for what? Well, to fight against Madrid, as they’ve admitted. Then they say they made reports. Those reports don’t exist. The coaches have spoken and said they haven’t seen those reports. Well, as they say here in Madrid, it’s clear as day. But justice must be done.”
Do you speak to Ceferin about this issue?
“I’ve spoken, and he knows we’re going to present a dossier next week. That’s fine, we’re within our rights. La Liga becomes involved and doesn’t ask questions; then it’s complicit in this matter because it says nothing. And the president of the Referees’ Committee says we should forget about it, that it happened a long time ago. Forget about it? But the world is waiting for the resolution of the biggest corruption case in football history. It’s systemic corruption, as the investigating judge said.”
The ruling on concerts at the Bernabéu.
“Real Madrid has no responsibility. That’s what they’ve conveyed. So now we’re going to negotiate with the Community. I understand that Madrid is very powerful, and some people don’t want to live with that power. But we have a stadium, and events are held everywhere. Now the pope is coming, and he also wants to be at the Bernabéu. We’re working on soundproofing and on everything the Community has asked of us. We don’t make money from concerts. It’s a reputational matter.”
Will concerts return to the Bernabéu?
“I think so. And very soon, after this resolution.”
Has all of this hurt you?
“Well, yes, it hurts. Like the parking lots. The parking lots were for residents because the City Council requested them. We were investing a hundred million for the residents, and they didn’t want them. It’s the first time I’ve encountered this. Those neighbors who go against Madrid, I have to think they’re from Atleti. We’re unlucky. Well, we’ll just use the ones already built at the Bernabéu, which are for Madrid.”
Do you like Mourinho?
“I like all coaches. Mourinho was with us and elevated our competitiveness. From there, we won these six European Cups in ten years. What can City do? Shoot themselves? And Manchester United? And Milan? Because they haven’t won a European Cup in I don’t know how many years.”
Do players have too much power at Madrid?
“The coaches are in charge. The players don’t have power. How could they have too much? I’ve never interfered. I’ve never spoken to any player.”
Is Mbappé committed?
“Mbappé is the best player Madrid has at the moment. He has been awarded the Golden Boot. He scores the most goals. But there is something we definitely need to improve. I am not going to get involved in that. And if we haven't won the Champions League, I have to say that we are hurt because the referee assigned to us deprived us of a beautiful semifinal and a final we could have reached. But this referee did not act in bad faith. He simply didn’t realize that four minutes earlier, he had already given a card. Because if he had realized, he wouldn’t have issued it.”
Has Mbappé understood what Real Madrid is?
“I think so, because last year and this year, he has scored many goals. And his mission is to score a lot of goals. Maybe others score fewer, but I am not here to judge that. An analysis of this squad needs to be done.”
Will there be signings next season?
“Of course, there will be signings. There have always been signings. We have always signed the best. I signed Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo, Beckham… Then Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaká, Benzema. When there is a good player, I go for him.”
Do you like Haaland?
“I don’t comment on that. Truly, I don’t. That is the job of the sporting management. Honestly, I don’t get involved in that.”
The relationship with Barça is broken.
“The relationship is completely broken. I don’t want to have a relationship with a club that has paid referees for two decades. I simply don’t want a relationship. I want justice to act in this case as it would in any other of this seriousness. And in fact, it is acting.”
Will you renew Vinicius’ contract?
“If I don’t renew it, I’ll say it again. There’s still the entire next season. To me, he’s one of the great players Madrid has. If you want, I can tell you that he won the last two Champions League titles for us.”
Would you like to be Real Madrid’s coach?
“No, I’d like to be a player.”
When was the last time you spoke with Mourinho?
“I didn’t speak to him even when he came here. But I didn’t see him, because he didn’t want to show up, or I don’t know where he went because he was sanctioned. But I like him very much.”
This Florentino is my Florentino.
“Yesterday’s Florentino is a hurt Florentino, with certain individuals rather than the media. There are journalists dedicated exclusively to saying that Madrid is in chaos. The first thing we must tell journalists is to tell the truth.”
Disclaimer: Translation generated by artificial intelligence. It may contain inaccuracies.