Laporta hits out at Real Madrid after Florentino Perez’s accusations – ‘Trying to find excuses that lead nowhere’ | OneFootball

FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta did not hold back when speaking about Real Madrid, following Florentino Perez’s recent accusations during the club’s Assembly, where he claimed that the Catalans had tasted success in the past because of their payments to Negreira.

Perez called out Barça over the Negreira case as well as pointed fingers at the club for agreeing to go through with La Liga’s proposal to play a league game abroad, which ended up being cancelled.

Laporta lashes out

During his visit to Andorra la Vella, Barcelona president Laporta lashed out at the accusations levelled at the club by his Real Madrid counterpart, stating that Los Blancos were obsessed with the Blaugrana.

“Now that I remember the statements made at the Madrid Assembly, which I haven’t had a chance to comment on, and now that I’m in Andorra, I’ll address them. I think they’re out of line; they reveal Madrid’s obsession with Barça,” said Laporta.

“It seems they have to talk about Barça to justify who knows what. They’re constantly involved in the legal proceedings of the ‘Negreira Case,’ which they’re dragging out like chewing gum because they know there’s nothing to it.”

Continuing, Laporta added: “But it’s a way of justifying something that isn’t true: Barça has never bribed referees, and referees generally don’t favour Barça; they’ve always favoured Madrid.”

Giving an example to back up his statement, Laporta said: “To give you an example, last week, Madrid scored two goals that, in my opinion, clearly involved Bellingham’s arm and Vinicius breaking Inaki’s nose.

“Those two goals shouldn’t have stood, and now Barça would be leading the league.”

Laporta made clear that Madrid’s accusations will not tarnish the greatest era in Barcelona’s history, during which the club was admired around the world.

“They have a persecution complex against the best period in Barça’s history. They didn’t like that Barça was the world’s leading team from 2004 to 2015, when Barça was dominant, and they’re trying to find excuses that lead nowhere,” he said.

Laporta has responded to Perez’s accusations. (Photo by Linnea Rheborg/Getty Images)

“We were the team that played the best football, recognised, admired, and esteemed for what we gave, for what we did, and admired for how we did it. We won many titles, and Barça’s style of play was admired all over the world, so don’t make excuses.”

The Barcelona president insisted on defending the club from the attacks of Florentino and ‘Madridismo’.

“If they’re caught up in this ‘Barcelona-itis,’ I’m delighted, because these are usually times when Barça is successful and triumphant,” he noted.

“Real Madrid’s television channel is trying to influence referees every week,” he emphasised.

On the attack on Javier Tebas

Laporta also addressed Florentino Perez’s attacks on La Liga president Javier Tebas, something that concerns him.

“After the statements made at the Assembly, attacking the president of La Liga, it makes me think the worst. I’ve had my ups and downs with Javier Tebas; he’s a noble person who is very passionate about his position,” said the Barça chief.

Giving an insight into their relationship, he added: “We have a normal relationship, not a privileged one, which we don’t seek.

“We have a normal relationship, and Real Madrid has a confrontational relationship with La Liga and they’re obsessed with getting rid of him. They’ll want to put someone in his place, but I don’t trust that strategy.” 

Concluding, Laporta noted: “Tebas does everything he can for what’s best for La Liga , so it makes me suspect that, driven by Real Madrid , they’re trying to remove him to put… who?”

Source: Mundo Deportivo