Barcelona have fiercely responded to explosive comments made by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez after he claimed his club had been “robbed” of seven La Liga titles.
The tension between Spain’s two football giants intensified after Perez launched an extraordinary press conference earlier this week, accusing sections of the Spanish media of running a campaign against him and Real Madrid.
However, ahead of Barcelona’s clash with Alaves, interim president Rafa Yuste fired back strongly and labelled Perez’s comments “pathetic”.
“Florentino’s words struck me as pathetic and full of lies. The club already issued a statement yesterday considering legal action, but I want to say that this maneuver by Florentino Perez to cover up a sporting disaster that has been going on for two years will get him nowhere,” Yuste told MD.
Meanwhile, Yuste admitted Perez’s press conference left him disappointed rather than shocked.
“I watched the press conference afterward, not live, and it didn’t make me laugh or cry. It made me sad. The president is the club’s highest representative, and when he makes statements like that, I consider them pathetic and untrue.”
Perez also reignited discussion surrounding the ongoing Negreira investigation involving Barcelona and former refereeing official Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.
Yet Yuste insisted the issue was being used as a distraction from Real Madrid’s recent struggles.
“It’s pointless to talk about Negreira again when we’ve won two league titles with a project featuring players from La Masia and others brought in from elsewhere.
“We’re winning by 14 points, and this is just a smokescreen to try and justify poor management. We Barca fans are very happy, and nothing will take that away.”
Furthermore, Yuste completely dismissed Perez’s claim that Real Madrid had been denied league titles unfairly.
“Seven stolen league titles? That’s completely false. Objectively speaking, it’s not true. He’ll know what he’s doing; we’re going to defend ourselves. We owe it to the fans and the club, and nobody touches the club.”
Barcelona’s interim president then ended with a pointed message toward Perez while praising the club’s direction under its youth-driven project.
“We are very happy to have won the League and to have conquered one of the most difficult leagues in the world two years in a row, but I have to say something to Mr. Florentino.
“If you’ll allow me a bit of irony, Joan Laporta arrives on July 1st, and there’s a Spanish TV series called ‘La que se avecina’ [The one that’s coming] that’s about to happen.
“We are going to continue fighting to bring more success to this club, so that La Masia is the undisputed cornerstone of our sporting management.”
The latest war of words has only added more fuel to the fierce rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid as tensions continue to rise both on and off the pitch.
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