In his first sit-down interview since calling Real Madrid presidential elections, Florentino Perez stayed on the offensive.
The long-time Los Blancos president held an extraordinary last-minute press conference on May 12th in which he announced club elections.
Perhaps unexpectedly, he received a challenger in Enrique Riquelme, putting a deal for Jose Mourinho on hold and causing chaos.
Perez will now face the green energy billionaire on June 7th, and started an interview with El Pais by hitting out at him.
Perez attacks Riquelme
“I’ve detected increasingly organised maneuvers between this candidacy and some media outlets over the last year,” Perez said.
“It was creating a horrible atmosphere among the members.
“They’re the same ones from Calderón’s time (Riquelme was 15 in 2009), when he had to resign in 2009. Many years have passed, and they’re still there.”
Perez on the Negreira Case
“I haven’t seen anything more serious than this in the history of football. Systematic corruption,” he declared.
“I never returned to the Camp Nou. I won’t stop until this is cleared up.”
Mbappe and Vinicius can’t play together?
“It’s nonsense. They are the two best players in the world,” he stated before discussing Vinicius’ contract.
“There’s time. I’d love for him to stay forever. They say he’s asking for too much money, but that’s a lie.
“Mbappé has been playing in a position that wasn’t the one he was playing at PSG. That has also thrown him off a bit.”
Perez breaks silence on Mourinho hire
“He’s a great manager. I know him, and he knows Real Madrid and the players,” he said.
“He instilled in us a fierce competitiveness.”
Attack on the Club World Cup
Perez refused to blame Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa for a trophyless season, commenting: “The Club World Cup killed us. We didn’t have a proper preseason, and within three months we had 28 injured players.”
Leave a Reply