Man City see off Palace to keep pressure on Arsenal
Man City secures a 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace, narrowing the gap to Arsenal in the title race.
Florentino Pérez claims he has won more European Cups than Barcelona has in its entire history during a recent press conference. He expresses surprise at media criticism and emphasizes the club's financial health despite recent challenges.
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âIâm a little surprised by the situation. Thereâs been media criticism that doesnât reflect reality. Iâve only received messages of congratulations about yesterday.â
âNo. The last time I read it was yesterday when, before going into the press conference, I saw a headline saying I was tired. If Iâm tired, itâs from working. But what they want to convey is that Iâm exhausted, that Iâm sick. And itâs very difficult to deal with those rumors and with the media outlets that are saying that.â
âAll the rumors. Thatâs a personal rumor. And then the club, which is in good financial and social health.â
âI put up with everything, but itâs very difficult to live in this hostile environment. And I said: enough is enough.â
âOf course. And to win many more European Cups. Do you (Pedrerol) also think Iâm sick?â
âIn my career, Iâve won more European Cups than Barça has in its entire history. But for some, thatâs not enough. What kind of country do we live in? Itâs an orchestrated campaign.â
Florentino Pérez stated that he has won more European Cups than Barcelona has in its entire history.
Pérez expressed surprise at the media criticism, claiming it does not reflect reality and that he has only received congratulatory messages.
Pérez called for elections due to a situation of constant instability and to allow any interested members to run for office.
Pérez announced that he has expelled 1,600 Real Madrid members associated with Ultras Sur who were deemed inappropriate for the stadium.
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âOf course. I inherited this club when there was a journalist, I wonât mention his name. I donât talk to journalists because, first of all, Iâm very busy. I run a very large company. I donât give interviews because I donât think itâs a good idea to give interviews.â
âWeâve come to devalue what we have. Last year, we won the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup. Is that not worth anything anymore? Letâs not take this to absurd extremes. This is an orchestrated campaign. Iâm not the owner of Madrid; the members are. Faced with this conflict, I decided to call for elections. In this situation of constant instability, I had to do it.â
âI donât know that man. When they called for elections in 2000, I didnât ask for them to be postponed. I ran and I won.â
âNo. Iâve been here for a quarter of a century, Josep. Do you think at this point in the game?⊠theyâve called me every name in the book. I donât want this kind of atmosphere. I want whoever wants to run to be able to run. I tell the members that they are the real owners and that I think itâs very wrong for them to boo the players. As for the fights⊠several players have gotten into fights every year. When it becomes public, itâs because someone wanted it to be known.â
âYes, we have a hunch. After this, everythingâs chaos, itâs ruin⊠man, for Godâs sake!â
âThis year hasnât gone as we wanted, but weâve also accomplished things. It all stems from the Club World Cup. We havenât been able to recover physically. Finishing second⊠so, what is Atleti supposed to do? And the rest of us?â
âWe cannot tolerate the atmosphere that some journalists have created. And since Iâm not the owner, Iâve called for elections and invited anyone who wants to run to do so. Why do we have to go through this?â
âI ran for office in 2000 to defend the members. And I continue to defend them. Yesterday you saw an angry Florentino facing the media. Theyâve been pushing him to resign.â
âItâs the image of someone whoâs fed up with hearing these things. And I told the journalists that.â
âShe explained it, it had nothing to do with me. Everyone knows me by now. The poor girl was raising her hand, and the person in charge of giving her the floor wouldnât let her speak. Is saying âthis girlâ considered derogatory? Weâre blowing this way out of proportion.â
âThe ones writing those articles were sports journalists; I know them all. What I meant was that that reporter wasnât a sports journalist. The thing is, theyâre out to get me.â
âNo, no. They want to influence Real Madrid. And theyâre not going to influence me. They havenât influenced me since 2000, but I get along well with all of them. Except for those who spread rumors. There are people who donât want the members to be in charge, and I want the members to be in charge.â
âThere are some Ultras Sur members who operate clandestinely, and they wonât be allowed in the BernabĂ©u anymore. People have congratulated me on that. They donât belong in a soccer stadium, and Iâve been able to kick them out.â
âThis year weâve expelled 1,600 Real Madrid members who were scalping season tickets.â
âTheyâd be wise to do so. If they think they have to sue us⊠I hadnât heard about the Negreira Case until three years ago. The first to come forward as a victim is Real Madrid. Thatâs when I realized that Barcelona had been paying for over two decades.â
âI think so. Next week weâll submit all the documentation from these past years to UEFA. 500 pages. Itâs very important documentation. Year after year, weâve documented every point theyâve shamelessly taken away from us. This year theyâve taken between 16 and 18 points from us. Ceferin has told us that weâre within our rights.â
âThe soccer world is waiting for the biggest corruption case in the world to be resolved. Do we want serious soccer? This is systemic corruption. Real Madrid is the only club that has taken legal action. LaLiga has joined the case but says nothing.â
âThe CJEU has ruled in our favor, and we have the right to create the Super League. And as such, we are being harmed. But I donât want money; I want whatâs best for soccer. We are currently working with UEFA and have a very good relationship with them. We want soccer to improve, and UEFA has changed its mind.â
âReal Madrid bears no responsibility. We will negotiate with the regional government to establish some guidelines.â
âNo. But everyone is against us. Real Madrid is very powerful. Weâre working on everything the Community has asked of us, and they need to pass legislation that allows us to hold events. We donât make money from the concerts; itâs a matter of reputation. I believe concerts will return to the BernabĂ©u.â
âThis is the first time Iâve met those neighbors. I have to assume theyâre Atleti fans.â
âI donât feel any pressure at ACS. I donât know why thereâs such animosity toward Real Madrid. That Florentino is finished, that heâs disappeared⊠I donât give interviews. I have to keep a very private life.â
âI like all coaches. He was with us; he raised our competitiveness. Itâs not true that Iâm the one who hires the coaches.â
âNo. They get along just fine. There have been constant arguments during training always. Ask any club. But whatâs missing here is the bad faith behind this orchestrated campaign.â
âI, too, have a duty to take on the journalists. And thatâs okay. I have to defend Real Madridâs owners, who are the club members. We need to call out the journalists who are enemies of Real Madrid.â
âNo. We didnât have a preseason. When you donât have a preseason, you fall behind physically. We thought the change would fix it, but it only lasted a little while, and then they fell behind again.â
âNo. The coaches are in charge. I donât know why I said that I âhad spoiled the players.â Iâve never spoken to any player. Not even back then. I swear to you, Josep.â
âMbappĂ© is a player whoâs with Real Madrid right now. Heâs won the Golden Boot, itâs not for lack of scoring goals. But there are areas that need improvement. Weâre still hurting from the Champions League, that referee they assigned us⊠I have to believe the man didnât act in bad faith, because he just didnât know any better.â
âOf course. Weâve always signed players; weâve always signed the best. I signed Figo, KakĂĄ, Ronaldo âThe Fat One,â Beckham⊠When thereâs a good one out there, I go after him. Haaland? I donât have an opinion on that. Thatâs the sports managementâs job; I donât get involved in sports management.â
âCompletely over. I donât want to have anything to do with a club that has been bribing referees for two decades. I want the justice system to take action.â
âBut Iâm not the one who re-signs players. To me, Vinicius is one of the best players Real Madrid has. He won the last two Champions League titles. Thereâs no rush to re-sign him; we have the whole season to talk about it. You seem to think Iâm in charge of everything, but thatâs something the sporting director has to handle.â
âEnough already with Mourinho. I didnât even speak to him when he came here (for the Champions League match against Benfica).â
âI didnât have a face-to-face meeting with anyone. Let him come forward and take responsibility. Let him present his deposit, it has to be his own. I want to put an end to this mess and get things back to normal.â