😳 Florentino Pérez hits out at UEFA, LaLiga and Barcelona in fiery speech

The president of Real Madrid, Florentino Pérez, stirred controversy in a speech at the club's Members' Assembly, which took place this Sunday (23).

Pérez FIRED AWAY without mincing words at UEFA, LaLiga, and rivals Barcelona.

When speaking about the Catalans, the president even recalled the "Negreira case," a scandal in Spanish football involving Barcelona, who are accused of having made payments to the former Spanish refereeing official José María Enríquez Negreira for 17 years.

"The level of Spanish refereeing is not normal. It is a disgrace that FIFA did not select any Spanish field referee for the Club World Cup. And, of course, it is not normal that Barcelona paid the vice-president of referees more than 8 million euros for at least 17 years. Whatever the reason. To the vice-president of refereeing, who had important functions. A period that, coincidentally, matches Barcelona's best results in our country."

It is worth noting that Barcelona continues to face accusations of sporting corruption, fraud, and mismanagement in 2025 because of this case. The investigation remains active, with testimonies, demands for documents, and new lines of inquiry.

The club and several figures from the past have been called to testify, including former presidents such as Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, as well as former president Joan Gaspart.

Criticism of UEFA

Florentino also directed his criticism at UEFA for preventing clubs from organizing their own tournaments, thus forcing clubs to compete in formats that, according to Pérez, "harm the fans."

The president also mentioned that clubs are "pressured to play matches in Asia, near China," because their executives "must give explanations to their voters." In other words, these actions would be aimed solely at serving their own internal interests.

"It is not normal for UEFA to try to direct our destiny and for us to have to play in competition formats that harm the fans. But keep in mind that their executives must give explanations to their voters. That is why we are forced to play matches in Asia, near China," he said.

And LA LIGA

Not even Javier Tebas, the president of LaLiga, was left out of the spotlight.

Pérez criticized the fact that Tebas considered taking a La Liga match, which would have been Barcelona vs Villarreal, to be played in Miami.

The match in question was scheduled for December 20, for the 17th round of the Spanish Championship, but was canceled. This happened right after protests against such a change, especially from the Spanish Footballers' Association (AFE).

Furthermore, he called it an "unusual practice" that both clubs had access to additional financial incentives for playing in Miami.

"It is not normal for the president of La Liga to want to impose a game in Miami on us, something that not even Barcelona's captain, De Jong, considers normal. And it is not normal for LaLiga to support two teams, Barcelona and Villarreal, receiving financial incentives to play in Miami. And then we have to listen to Tebas compare this failed attempt with the NFL, which was legal and in accordance with the competition rules and had the full support of everyone. It's not the same thing, it didn't even have UEFA's support. It's nothing more than a failed bet," he concluded.

So, what do you think of Florentino Pérez's criticisms?

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

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