Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has given another round of explosive interviews to Spanish media.
The 71-year-old defended Kylian Mbappe, distanced himself from reports suggesting he may bring back Jose Mourinho as manager… and even hinted that Erling Haaland could end up at the Bernabeu.
Perez also expanded on Tuesday’s rant about perceived threats in the media, the standard of refereeing and potential candidates to replace him as president.
Speaking to the Spanish TV programme El Chiringuito de Jugones, he reiterated his theory of an organised campaign against the club, saying. ‘I know the journalists involved in this orchestrated campaign. They think they can influence Real Madrid. I don’t speak to journalists because I’m very busy.’
Asked about potential signings, including Manchester City’s Haaland, he added mischievously: ‘Is Haaland impossible to sign? I don’t know.’
He does in fact know that Haaland is contracted at City until 2034 and that even Madrid’s spending power would be tested in the extreme were they to move for him.
But he ruled out doing business with Barcelona. When asked whether Madrid could make a move for Lamine Yamal, Perez said, conspiratorially: ‘Of course I like him. How could I not? But with the situation we have with Barca now… I don’t want to have any relationship with a club that has paid off referees for two decades.’
Florentino Perez has given another round of explosive interviews to the Spanish media
He also passed comment on Manchester City star Erling Haaland, who is contracted until 2034
How about Mourinho, then? The Benfica boss looks set to return to the club he managed between 2010 and 2013, but Perez was tight-lipped when quizzed about him.
‘I like all the coaches. He was with us, he raised our competitiveness. It’s not true that I choose the coaches,’ he said.
‘How tiresome with Mourinho (questions). I didn’t even speak to Mourinho when he came here (for the Champions League match against Benfica).’
Perez was also asked to reflect on dressing room rows, and his relationship with French striker Mbappe. ‘I don’t speak to Mbappe,’ he said. ‘I greet the players at training.
‘Mbappe is the best player at Real Madrid right now; he’s been awarded the Golden Boot. There are things we need to improve, but I’m not going to get into that. I think he understands what Real Madrid is all about. He’s scored a lot of goals.’
Regarding the conflicts in the team that recently saw Uruguayan Federico Valverde taken to hospital with a head injury after a row with team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni, he added: ‘We know about them or we suspect them. Bringing that up to tear Real Madrid down. It should stay in the locker room. Now they’re saying it’s chaos. I’m not going to analyse it.’
Perez has been in a curious mood all week. He confronted journalists in a rare news conference on Tuesday and claimed he was the victim of an ‘organised campaign’ to unseat him.
Perez called for new club elections and told his opponents to present themselves and challenge him and his board of directors.
‘I want to talk about all those I believe are behind this campaign… some people are moving in the shadows to run for elections. Well, let them run,’ he said. ‘This is the opportunity I am giving them.’
Usually calm and soft-spoken, Perez appeared agitated and got into discussions with the media during the hastily scheduled news conference at the club’s training centre, two days after Real lost 2-0 at Barcelona and saw its Catalan rival clinch its second straight Spanish league title.
‘Some journalists and people want to destroy Real Madrid,’ he ranted. ‘I’ll always defend the interest of the Madrid members.’