Real Madrid president will not change on stance on El Clasico snub – report

Florentino Perez will snub the Clasico at Camp Nou. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

From Barcelona’s side, the feeling is similar. Barcelona were not especially keen on holding a formal directors’ lunch either, particularly after Real Madrid joined the Negreira investigation as a private prosecutor. That move further damaged relations between the clubs.

Saudi Arabia has been the exception. While there were no official directors’ lunches during Spanish Super Cup meetings there, representatives from both clubs did meet informally.

In 2024, for example, club officials gathered at the Spanish embassy in Riyadh alongside representatives from the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to pose with the Super Cup trophy.

In La Liga fixtures, however, there have been no directors’ lunches since the controversy began. Earlier this season, the first league El Clasico kicked off at 4:15pm, effectively ruling out any possibility of a formal gathering.

And now, for this latest meeting, Perez will once again stay away from Barcelona, continuing the policy he first introduced in 2023.