“Even Frenkie de Jong disagrees”: Real Madrid president hits out on La Liga | OneFootball

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez used the club’s General Assembly to launch yet another round of attacks aimed at La Liga and, unsurprisingly, Barcelona. 

Notably, Perez’s words painted the picture of a president more focused on creating tension than addressing the real issues facing Spanish football.

Perez chose to revive the now-abandoned ‘Miami Plan’, the proposal that would have seen Barcelona and Villarreal play a league match in the United States. 

Before repeating his criticism, it is important to understand that the plan collapsed largely because of political, financial, and logistical barriers – not because of some heroic intervention from Real Madrid.

Still, Perez insisted on framing it differently, saying, “It’s not normal for the president of La Liga to promote a match outside of Spain. Even Barcelona’s captain, Frenkie de Jong, doesn’t think it’s normal.”

He continued with, “It’s not normal La Liga supports Barcelona and Villarreal, receiving extra financial incentives for playing in Miami.”

Double standards? Maybe…

Interestingly, what he chose not to mention is that Barcelona were following a project proposed and supported by La Liga – a project aimed at expanding Spanish football’s global presence.

Interestingly, this is exactly what Perez himself has advocated for when it suits Real Madrid’s commercial interests.

Florentino Perez has once again caused controversy (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO/AFP via Getty Images)

Perez further attempted to portray Real Madrid as the lone defender of Spanish football governance, declaring, 

“Everyone was against the Miami match. Even the Barcelona players participated in the protests. 

“However, as far as we know, no other club filed a complaint against the CSD (Spanish National Sports Council). Only Real Madrid. We do have that strength.”

Calling out the Negreira case… Again!

The Real Madrid president later turned to the refereeing system and again used the Negreira case to cast shadows over Barcelona. 

He stated, “It is a shame for Spanish football that of the 35 referees selected for the Club World Cup, FIFA did not select any Spanish referee.”

He then added, “It is not normal that FC Barcelona has paid the vice-president of the referees more than €28 million for at least eight years. 

“Whatever the reason, it’s not normal. He had key functions in the refereeing system, including communicating promotions and relegations. 

“A period that coincides, coincidentally, with the most successful period of FC Barcelona in our country.”

But once again, Perez used selective storytelling. Barcelona have repeatedly stated their position, cooperated with investigations, and maintained that all payments were for consultancy work, while no governing body has accused the club of match-fixing.