Florentino Pérez presides over Christmas lunch with the media

Real Madrid held its Christmas lunch with the media at the Real Madrid City basketball pavilion. The event was presided over by Florentino Pérez, whose speech included the following words: "Thank you for joining us for this traditional Christmas event. First of all, I wish you a very happy holiday season in the company of your families and loved ones. And I hope that the new year 2026 will bring you health, work and happiness."

"At a time of meeting like this, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reporting and your efforts in bringing Real Madrid news to all our fans. At this club, we have always valued the work of the media and the relationship we have maintained over time within the framework of honesty, mutual respect, professionalism and rigour."

Real Madrid Foundation
"We also try to take this way of tackling the great challenges that we face each season in society through the Real Madrid Foundation. We say that our Foundation is the soul of our club because, thanks to it, we help 400,000 people in more than 100 countries every year. We bring hope to the most vulnerable in society, especially to children at risk of social exclusion. Sport is a powerful tool for solidarity, capable of bringing people together, wherever they may be."

58 trophies in 15 years
"And it must also be said that the unity of the Madridistas has allowed us to experience one of the most successful periods in our history over the last 15 years. In this period of time our club has won 58 trophies: 30 in football and 28 in basketball, including 6 European Cups in football and 3 European Cups in basketball."

Reflection on refereeing
"And Christmas is also a time to reflect on the things that concern us. And in our case, I can tell you categorically that Real Madrid's greatest concern is the situation of refereeing in Spain. A problem that has gone beyond our borders and damages the credibility and reputation of our competition."

"It is completely incomprehensible that football's institutions have left Real Madrid alone in this dispute. How is it possible that in the criminal case we are the only ones fighting for justice to be done? How is it possible that the president of the referees asks us to forget it and move on? But how can we forget the biggest scandal in the history of football in the world? We never will."

Negreira Case
"And I would like to add: how is it possible that the Federation and LaLiga, who are supposed to oversee the integrity of the competition and ensure that justice is done, behave in this way? What is the reason for their passivity? I hope that one day we will also find out. The Federation and LaLiga have a duty to watch over the integrity of the competition so that they do not appear to be complicit in such a serious case."

"The Negreira case is undoubtedly the most serious problem in football today, even at international level. As it has been reported these days, today we know that more than €8 million have been paid for technical reports on referees, the most expensive reports in the world, and that they were never even known by the coaches themselves, who were the recipients of the reports."

Consequences
"Who can believe that millions of euros have been paid for technical reports which, it seems, must have been useless, because they were not even provided to the coaches, who apparently did not even know of their existence?"

"Today, the consequences of a case that stains the image of our sport and highlights the need for a radical change in the structures of Spanish refereeing are still fresh in our minds."

Refereeing in Vitoria
"Without going into further detail, yesterday we had a referee on the VAR who threatened to take action against our club the day before a Copa final. Can you imagine this situation in any other country? And as you saw yesterday, or in our previous game in Girona, it seems that the trips experienced by Vinicius or Rodrygo in our last two outings are not penalties, it is the refereeing novelty of this season."

"We're sure that we are not the only club harmed by this case. In fact, it is possible that some clubs have even been demoted, victims of the Negreira case."

Integrity and decency
"The integrity and decency of our sport is at stake. The image of our football has been seriously damaged. And therefore, justice must be done because only then can we, together, regenerate Spanish football."

"Don't forget that the judge investigating the case categorised it as systemic corruption. And you all know that, in public interviews, former Barcelona executives openly acknowledged that these payments were made because they were convenient for their club. Convenient, why? And for what? Of course, their coaches have stated that they did not even know about or need these reports."

Regeneration
"Real Madrid will continue to press for this because of what our institution represents in the world of football and sport. And you, in the media, play a fundamental role so that 2026 can be the year in which, at last, justice is done and the true regeneration of Spanish football begins."

Stadium
"And apart from this very unfortunate case for all of us, we are very excited about the future of our club. We witnessed the completion of work on the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, which is greatly admired by all those who visit it. The historic NFL game has brought the excitement of the transformation of the Bernabéu, which has become one of the great avant-garde icons of sport and one of Madrid's main tourist attractions, to be seen all over the world. We are proud to be able to contribute to the prestige of our city and our country with our stadium."

"And to conclude. On behalf of the Real Madrid Board of Directors and myself, we wish you and your families a Merry Christmas, and may the New Year bring health, happiness and professional success to all of you."