? Florentino Pérez hits out at Uefa, LaLiga and Barcelona in speech

The president of Real Madrid, Florentino Pérez, stirred controversy in a speech at the Merengue club’s General Assembly, which took place this Sunday (23).

Pérez FIRED shots without mincing words at UEFA, LaLiga, and rivals Barcelona. 

When talking about the Catalans, the president even recalled the "Negreira case," a scandal in Spanish football involving Barcelona, who are accused of having made payments to the former Spanish refereeing official José María Enríquez Negreira over a period of 17 years.

"The level of Spanish refereeing is not normal. It’s a disgrace that FIFA did not select any Spanish field referee for the Club World Cup. And, of course, it’s not normal that Barcelona paid the vice-president of referees more than 8 million euros for at least 17 years. Whatever the reason. To the vice-president of referees, who had important functions. A period that, coincidentally, matches Barcelona’s best results in our country."

?? El cambio de discurso de Florentino con el Barça: de su “nos tenemos que ayudar” a atacar duramente a los azulgrana por el caso Negreira pic.twitter.com/9Yf5okjWGA

— MARCA (@marca) November 23, 2025

It’s worth noting that Barcelona continues to face accusations of sports corruption, fraud, and mismanagement in 2025 due to this case. The investigation remains active, with testimonies, demands for documents, and new lines of inquiry.

The club and several figures from the past have been called to testify, including former presidents like Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, as well as former president Joan Gaspart.

Criticism of UEFA

Florentino also directed his criticism at UEFA for preventing clubs from organizing their own tournaments, forcing teams to compete in formats that, according to Pérez, "harm the fans."

The president also mentioned that teams are "pressured to play matches in Asia, near China," because their executives "must answer to their voters." In other words, these actions are aimed solely at serving their own internal interests.

"It’s not normal for UEFA to try to dictate our destiny and for us to have to play in competition formats that harm the fans. But keep in mind that their executives must answer to their voters. That’s why we are forced to play matches in Asia, near China," he said.

And LA LIGA

Not even Javier Tebas, the president of LaLiga, was spared from the spotlight.

Pérez criticized the fact that Tebas considered taking a La Liga match, which would have been Barcelona vs Villarreal, to be played in Miami.

The match in question was scheduled for December 20, as part of the 17th round of the Spanish Championship, but was canceled. This happened right after protests against such a change, mainly coming from the Spanish Footballers’ Association (AFE).

Additionally, he called it an "unusual practice" that both clubs would have access to additional financial incentives for playing in Miami.

"It’s not normal for the president of La Liga to want to impose a match in Miami on us, something that not even Barcelona’s captain, De Jong, considers normal. And it’s not normal for LaLiga to support both teams, Barcelona and Villarreal, receiving financial incentives to play in Miami. And then we have to listen to Tebas compare this failed attempt with the NFL, which was legal and in accordance with the competition’s rules and had everyone’s full support. It’s not the same thing, and it didn’t even have UEFA’s support. It’s nothing more than a failed bet," he concluded.

So, what do you think of Florentino Pérez’s criticisms?

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