Leaked audio of Florentino Perez describing Real Madrid legends Iker Casillas and Raul as ‘frauds’ has been obtained by Spanish outlet El Confidencial.
Casillas and Raul are widely regarded as two of the greatest players in Madrid’s history.
But it’s been reported - via Marca, The Daily Mail and other outlets - that Perez criticised the two club legends in leaked audio from 2006.
This was the same year that Perez resigned as Real Madrid’s president.
He walked away from the Bernabeu in February 2006, effectively admitting that his ‘Galactico’ policy had been a failure.
Six months later, a private conversation that Perez was involved in was taped.
Fifteen years later and, for some reason, the audio has now been made public - and it threatens to embarrass all concerned.
What did Florentino Perez says about Raul and Casillas?
"Casillas is not a Real Madrid standard goalkeeper, what can I say? He's not and never has been," Perez said in comments published by El Confidencial, per Marca.
"He has been a big failure of ours. The problem is people adore him, love him, talk to him, they defend him so much.
"He is one of the biggest frauds and the other is Raul, the two biggest Real Madrid frauds are first Raul and second Casillas."
Perez didn’t stop there.
"The players are very selfish, you can't count on them for anything," he added.
"If you do, you've made a mistake and they'll let you down, it's ridiculous.
"I have an awful view of the players."
Raul currently works for Florentino Perez
Perez, who returned to Real Madrid in 2009 and has remained the club’s president ever since, is yet to respond to the tape.
But it’s an embarrassing situation for the 74-year-old, who may have explaining to do - particularly to Raul.
The former striker currently works as the head coach of Real Madrid Castilla, the club’s reserve team, and is subsequently one of Perez’s employees.
“Raul is bad, he believes that Madrid is his and uses everything that is in Madrid for his own benefit,” Perez said in 2006, per The Daily Mail.
“He is a negative figure, he is destroying Madrid and the morale of the players so that they say: ‘It is Madrid that is bad, not Raul.’ It is terrible how bad the boy is.”
Raul will forever be one of the most loved players in Real Madrid’s history after scoring 323 goals in 741 games for Los Blancos. The 44-year-old is also yet to respond to the leaked audio.
Casillas, meanwhile, spent the vast majority of his career with Madrid before leaving in 2015.
The Spaniard is widely considered to be the greatest goalkeeper in Real Madrid’s history.
What has Florentino Perez said?
In response to the claims, Perez has posted the following statement on Real Madrid's official website:
"Following the article published by El Confidencial that features comments that I have been credited as having made, I believe that it is important to clarify that:
- The published quotes were part of conversations secretly recorded by Mr José Antonio Abellán, who has been trying to sell the recordings for many years without any success. I find it surprising that they have been published today by El Confidencial, despite the time that has elapsed.
- They are isolated quotes that were part of conversations and have been taken out of the wider context in which they were made.
- I understand that the fact that they have been published now, so many years on from the time the conversations took place, owes to my involvement as one of the driving forces behind the Super League.
- I have placed the matter in the hands of my lawyers, who are examining the course of action to be taken."
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