Real Madrid are set for a period of further continuity after Florentino Perez was re-elected as club president until 2021, and MARCA took the opportunity to discuss all things Los Blancos with the 70-year-old.
In 2000 you were elected as president of Real Madrid. In 17 years the club has been transformed. What do you hold onto for all these years?
“The most important thing is that I presented myself because the club’s economic situation was not good and we could have lost the privilege of our members owning the club. My most important contribution has been to keep Real Madrid remain in the hands of the members.”
How did you manage to halt that economic storm?
“For this we reinvented Santiago Bernabeu’s model: if you play great players, you will bring in great income, and then you can continue to sign great players. It’s an economics-sporting equation Bernabeu taught us in the 1950s and it’s paid off. From losing money, we started to earn money, have economic stability, and then sporting stability.”
“We have managed to be the most successful sporting club for many years, and now we are perfecting the system because there are clubs with a lot of economic power, which there weren’t before. Their owners have a lot of money and we have to work with imagination, because we are owned by our members.
“Thus we have survived 115 years and want to live many more. The digital world has opened perspectives and we have many hopes to continue dominating the economic section and consolidating ourselves in the sporting section.”
Until when?
“Surely for as long our members want it to and as long as they have strength.”
What’s your top priority?
“The world of football has become much more competitive and difficult. Now the sports project must be approached in another way. It has always been focused on the world’s best players, the best Spanish players and the academy. Now we have perfected it, being attentive to young players from all over the world. We are carrying out a great project, which will guarantee us for the future.”
Tell us about Bernabeu, for comparison…
“Bernabeu left us the myth that was Real Madrid. You can delve into the model, but thanks to that way of doing things, we can continue making history. I have heard that ‘Florentino is very good at the economic side of things, but not at the sporting section’. It is absurd because the economics-sporting equation is the same. Great players, great income. Today, what we do is adapt the model to the present day.”
And suddenly the Cristiano Ronaldo story appears and his discomfort at the situation he’s in, is there a solution?
“I plan to talk to him one day. I have not talked to him yet. We do not want to disturb his concentration on the national team. I do not know anymore, what some have written or others have said. I think this [tax issue] is the worst thing that has been set upon Cristiano, and I agree with him. Some media have presented an image of him, more or less as a delinquent, and doing that to a person of his professional prestige and honesty, is by all accounts not easy to understand. The presumption of innocence has not been taken into account.”
If your anger and discomfort is one hundred percent genuine, what attitude will the club take?
“Everything in life can be talked about and solved by dialogue. I’ve always had a very good opinion of Cristiano and we’ll see where this ends up, so that no one misunderstands the club and the player, I want to clarify that we fulfill our fiscal obligations and we have a lot of confidence that Ronaldo has had every intention to fulfill his fiscal obligations.”
“I do not know the problem with a tax return like his, but we talked to his law firm and we can say that when he played in the Premier League, he had a corporate structure for the exploitation of his image rights, which is the same as he has had here. The player, for sure, has never hidden his income by exploiting image rights and has declared his income. There has been no concealment. I do not know if there are discrepancies, but if there are, the issue will end in a court or in the Supreme Court, but from there to now the image of delinquent is not normal. Some media have not lived up to the circumstances.”
If an offer arrives for him, what will Real Madrid do?
“No offer has arrived and what we know is that Ronaldo is a Real Madrid player and will continue to be. Just like everybody else. There is no offer.”
What do you think of those whistles that appear from time to time in the Bernabeu?
“That is another topic. To be called out by a small group of fans, it seems fatal, for Ronaldo or any other. If we have a sense of belonging, that the players are ours and are part of our family, it is not normal to be jeered by someone. It’s not normal to whistle someone in your family.”
“I’m going to work so that does not happen because, in addition, it’s a very small group. Another thing is the demands, which are good because we all want more. It is not normal to throw stones against your own roof. Other media and other teams benefit from us doing so. He knows it and I know it. He asked not to be punished. I have also said this and it is a surpassable subject, but I think he is more hurt because they consider him as a criminal, a person who has done a lot for football, for Real Madrid and for everything. We have to be very grateful. Some have gone too far in their attempts to hurt Real Madrid.”
Will the conflict be resolved immediately?
“The Confederations Cup final is on Sunday next week and we are in the month of June. He has not said anything and this is talked about because an intermediary has said that he wants to leave. It is interesting to know what he thinks. I ask for calm and patience.”
Do you have any doubts about the team after three Champions League titles in four years, two of them in a row?
“I am convinced that if we continue with this sports model, more will come. We have some spectacular young players and I think we will have all the best players in a few years. Now you can’t wait until the last moment for a player to appear and spend 200 million euros, now you have to see them younger, in their natural environment, in their clubs. We have a team that works and finds players like Vinicius, Federico Valverde, Marco Asensio, Jesus Vallejo and Theo Hernandez. We must feed the future of our club with these types of players.”
How does that sports chain work?
“The sports management department, of which we speak so much of, merged with the general management. Therefore, the head of sports management is Jose Angel Sanchez and then we have a football section under Ramon Martinez and another basketball section under Juan Carlos Sanchez. Both work well. Within the football department is Juni Calafat, who is phenomenal at attracting young players from all over the world, those who are 18 or 19 years old and that will mark the future of football.”
Will Raul have access to this organisation chart?
“Of course. He is now in the learning phase at the club and will know all areas of the management under the tutelage of Jose Angel Sanchez. The club has grown a lot and more knowledge is needed. Once he sees everything, he can decide what he wants to do. Just like Zidane did, which surprised us a lot when he said he wanted to be a coach. He said it after going through all the areas of the club.”
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Are you worried by Asensio’s explosion?
“No, not at all. Asensio is not only capable of being world class, he can win the Ballon d’Or. He has all the conditions to succeed. He is humble, hard working, sensible, a team player and of tremendous quality. All his teammates recognise that.”
“It’s not about money. He’s one of those players that we signed because they have the conditions to play in the first-team. This has been his debut season and Zidane has handled it wonderfully. Every time he has played, he has done it magnificently, but the other day was something he did not forget in a long time.”
Kylian Mbappe and Gianluigi Donnarumma are two names we’ve heard most about these past few days, is there anything there?
“On the Saturday of the Champions League final, the presidential electoral process was opened. Since then, we have not done anything because that seemed disrespectful. Now we can start. These days nobody has offered us anything for any player and we have not made any offer. Everything that has come out and spoken about is not true, except in Theo’s case, because it happened earlier. There is no offer for anyone. It’s all due to the interests and dreams of others… Football is entertaining.”
But Mbappe and Donnarumma are players who draw your attention, right?
“Yes, of course. Mbappe, the AC Milan goalkeeper too, Vinicius and other young players. If they are good, Real Madrid will take an interest at the right time. Real Madrid has always had the best players in the world. I need to talk to Zidane. We will continue to contemplate these issues.”
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What do you think about Mbappe giving winks to Real Madrid?
“I do not know if he does or not, but at least they say he does. For us it satisfying. We know that his dream is to play for Real Madrid. He has photos with everyone, he has the shirts. Something similar happened with Asensio. When I was little I slept in my Real Madrid shirt. Situations like this give us great happiness. Real Madrid is the meeting place for many and if these players want to come, then that’s excellent.”
Is there any impediment for a Mino Raiola player to come to Real Madrid, such as Donnarumma?
“No, no. Apart from Pogba, when we had no chance of talking to Raiola about any player. Last year it was impossible and this year we will see what happens. When Zidane comes back, we will know what he thinks of this Donnarumma idea.”
What about De Gea? Why does your interest repeat itself but always come to nothing?
“Two years ago we had the fax machine fatality. It was two minutes late and then nothing. Last year we had a chance that we did not take and now we have no agreement with Manchester United to sign him. The truth is that we have great goalkeepers.”
What role does Sergio Ramos play in the dressing room and at the club?
“He has matured very much in two years. In a group of 24 players, with different personalities, he has been fundamental because he has improved his leadership abilities. I have to say that he has played a great role not only with the Spaniards, but also with the Croatians, with the French, with everyone. He has been and will remain a key element of our unity because he has been here for many years and conveys what needs to be done. It has been one of our great successes, to have Sergio Ramos as captain.”
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What do you think about Barcelona? The cycle has changed and now the suffering has settled in at the Camp Nou, right?
“I do not think they have suffered, they had a magical season. They won the Copa del Rey. They have a great team, perhaps with gaps in the middle of the field because of the age of some players, who have grown older. I’m sure they will solve it. They will remain our enemy both in Spain and in Europe.”
Is the European Super League project permanently parked?
“Football as a phenomenon has no limits. Each year there’s an unexpected development. The talent that accumulates in five or six teams means you have to adapt, with changes to our formats. Someone will come up with a closed project and it can be done.”
Culled from MARCA
