Feud between Barca and Florentino Perez – Court date in November
The long‑standing feud between FC Barcelona and the president of Real Madrid, Florentino Perez, has now found its way to the courts. Both parties must appear in Madrid on November 25 for a mediation hearing, as judicial circles confirmed on Monday. This opens another chapter in the long‑running rivalry dispute.
The conflict began in May, when Perez, in a press conference, accused Barcelona of corruption and described the incident as the "most serious case of corruption in the history of football." He said: "I have won seven championships. I could have won twice as many. The others were stolen from me." These statements provoked a counter‑reaction from the Catalan club.
In June, Barcelona filed an official mediation request and demanded a public retraction of the statements. The club announced that, should an agreement not be reached, it would file a criminal complaint for defamation. This is intended to force Perez to withdraw his allegations.
Negreira case and financial allegations
At the centre of the Negreira case are payments of up to seven million euros that Barcelona is alleged to have made over the years to companies linked to José María Enriquez Negreira, a former vice‑president of the Spanish referees' committee. Spanish authorities are examining whether these payments were intended to influence sport.
Barcelona must tidy finances to dodge UEFA sanction
Barcelona denies any wrongdoing and states that the payments were made for the preparation of referee reports. The club's statement emphasizes that no unlawful influence took place.
Perez's further accusations and possible legal consequences
In another statement in May, Perez said, translated from Italian: "I have only won seven Champions Cups and seven league titles, when I could have won 14 because they were stolen from me." He also referred to a 500‑page dossier that is to be handed over to UEFA against Barcelona.
Barcelona sues Perez over May statements
The upcoming hearing on November 25 is initially an attempt to settle the dispute out of court. If no agreement is reached, Barcelona will file the announced criminal complaint under Article 205 of the Spanish Penal Code and initiate a possible criminal proceeding for defamation against Perez.