Barcelona have made a criminal complaint against Real Madrid president Florentino Perez after his recent comments about corruption in La Liga.
Just last month, Perez stunned the world of football after delivering an incredibly chaotic press conference, during which he argued with the media, suggested he would refuse to be ousted from Madrid, and took aim at their rivals, Barcelona.
The Catalan club won the La Liga title this season, but Perez has claimed Barca had “always benefited” from what he deems to be unlawful information provided by a refereeing consultant by the name of Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.
Barcelona are not happy with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez
The Negreira case dates back over 17 years, with the former vice-president of the Spanish referees’ committee reportedly having given Barcelona insight into match officials after being paid around €7 million (roughly $8.1 million).
While Barcelona look to defend themselves over that matter, they have now fired back at Perez and threatened to take legal action against the Madrid man for what they deem to be slander.
In an official statement, FC Barcelona wrote: “[The club] reports that today it has filed the required conciliation request prior to filing a lawsuit for the crime of slander under Article 205 of the Penal Code against the President of Real Madrid, Mr. Florentino Perez, as a result of the statements made by him at the press conference on May 12 and in an interview with a media outlet the following day.
“The objective of this lawsuit is for Mr. Pérez to retract certain statements he made knowing them to be false, statements that are slanderous and offensive to the image and reputation of the Club.
“Should this demand not be properly addressed, FC Barcelona will proceed to file the corresponding criminal complaint.”
Perez has also annoyed Atletico Madrid this week
It has not been a good week for Perez, who also angered another fierce rival, Atletico Madrid. After sanctioning a €150 million ($173 million) bid for Atletico striker Julian Alvarez, a statement was released by Real confirming it had been rejected but that “good relations” remained between the two clubs.
Atletico decided to speak out, too. Taking to Twitter/X, the club stated they would not be considering any offers for Alvarez, essentially refuted the idea of a positive relationship between the two sides, and even joked that they have more respect for Barcelona.
They wrote: “You may have confused politeness with gratitude, but just to be clear: we don’t thank you for anything… We are neither considering nor evaluating any offer for Julian… How could we not get along, when you make us laugh even more than FC Barcelona?”
Perez is looking to continue his role as president of Real Madrid, and is also embarking on a new era at the club by bringing back Jose Mourinho as manager. However, over the past week, it’s safe to say things have not quite gone to plan for the 79-year-old.
