Florentino Pérez: 'Trophies are won through lots of hard work and sacrifice'

President Florentino Pérez spoke to the press after Real Madrid clinched their 20th Copa del Rey crown.  Before assessing the game, the president had words of praise for the opposition: 'I'd like to take the chance to congratulate Osasuna on their season. They made things very difficult for us tonight, as everyone could see, because they really do give it their all. That's worthy of underlining. I'd like to congratulate their president and the players because they've had a spectacular season and they made it very tough.'

“You're happy whenever you win a title. It was a very hard-fought Copa del Rey. We started out with Cacereño, who already fought tooth and nail, then it was Villarreal, Atlético de Madrid and Barcelona, it was not an easy route to the final. Osasuna were unbelievable today, they gave it everything they had and now I value it even more highly.'

The importance of the Copa
“The Copa del Rey is hugely important for us because we played against the best players in Spain. It's worthy of great credit because everyone give it all they have. Trophies are won through lots of hard work and sacrifice.'
 
The demands of Real Madrid
“That is what I inherited from Santiago Bernabéu. He showed us that you have to fight to the end for every possible trophy and all I do is try to live up to the very high standards he set.'

Togetherness
“We're used to winning trophies almost every season. We have a very good team, it's very much united, very madridista and that's clear out on the pitch. We're enjoying a very beautiful period.'

On Rodrygo
“He's very good. He's really young and he'll give us madridistas many more years of joy yet. He and Vinicius are amazing. They're so young, which means we have over a decade to keep enjoying them.'
 
Vini Jr.
“He's the best in his position in the world. Every time he gets the ball, everyone stops to see what he's going to do. It really is difficult to stop him and generally, the guys who have to mark him foul him a lot. He complains and he gets carded, so I don't understand that. We have to defend the players who put on a show, who bring joy to football.'
 
The calendar 
“This gives us huge strength, the problem is, they don't give us any time to rest. I don't know who sets the calendar but they should really take a look at themselves. It's unacceptable. I'd like to let whoever is deciding it know, we cannot play with under three days between games. We'll be tired but we'll give it everything we have as well.'
 
On the tie against City
“I'm sure Guardiola will have watched today's game, as is his job. He's a great coach and he has some wonderful players. It will be a hard-fought tie, as ever when two teams come up against each other. I'd dare say they are the two best.'
 
Confidence 
“This gives us real strength. I'm sure that winning today will give us a huge morale boost for Tuesday's game.'