The last couple of months have not been easy for Florentino Pérez, and things are about to get even worse for him due to several leaked audios where he speaks about some of the legendary footballers that have played for the team while under his command.
The article issued by El Confidencial reveals Pérez's words from 2006 and 2008 about two Spanish icons for the Madrid-based team: Iker Casillas and Raúl González. Both are slammed by Pérez in the leaked conversations and his words may seem to hint why he fired both footballers unceremoniously when he had the chance to do so.
Pérez was particularly harsh when talking about Casillas, referring to the former goalie as a "puppy" and as a player that should never have reached a legendary status with Los Blancos.
"It has been seen that the other goalkeeper was better than Casillas. Poor guy, he is not very bright. Don't worry, I know him perfectly, he's a guy with no, well, he's a bit short,"Pérez said during one of the audios.
The second audio is even more revealing, as Casillas' skills and even vision were questioned by Real Madrid's main man.
"Casillas is loved by everyone, which is baffling to me. But that's what football can give you. I think that Casillas does not have the height to be a goalie, and he does not have the greatest eyesight. I've told Ginés (Carvajal, the player's agent) to take him to the ophthalmologist, because I think he can't see very well, especially when they shoot from outside the box. What do you want me to say? Casillas should not be Real Madrid's goalie. He should have never been our goalkeeper. He is one of the biggest scams in Real Madrid history, and the other one is Raúl," Pérez stated.
The other audio starts with Pérez praising some of his Galáctico signings, such as Zidane and Beckham. Unfortunately, when the conversation gets to Raúl González, the current Real Madrid president's speech changes its tone.
"Zidane is a great lad, and Beckham and Ronaldo too. But then there are some that think that...well, let's see. Ronaldo is a tool, and that's it. All of them are tools, but Raúl is really bad as a player. He thinks he owns Real Madrid and he uses everything at the club's disposal for his own benefit. He does it, and his agent does the same," Pérez states in the conversation.
Then, Pérez blames Raúl for forcing him to leaving during his first stint as Real Madrid president.
"Look, I left the club for him, and for some other reasons. Because Raúl thinks he is finished, and since he believes he's done, he goes around thinking that 'before I go down in flames, I'm going to take the club down with me. He is a negative fellow, he is tearing the team apart," Pérez added.
Then, while speaking again about his Galáctico signings, he aimed another dig at the former captain and the second player with most goals in club history.
"Beckham is a good guy. He is smart and he has ba**s. He earns thirty million euros a year, he has to be smart to do so. Beckham and Ronaldo were the top earners, then came Zidane, who collected 25. Then, the rest had a bank here or there, Figo had a clock unveiled at his hometown, and we helped the others with their stuff. We signed the Audi deal to give something to Raúl and Figo, otherwise they would not have mde big money. Raúl can't sell a pen, man, he is not a product that anyone will buy," Pérez concluded.
Real Madrid's president reacted to these leaks by blaming writer José Antonio Abellán, who published a book about Florentino Pérez's first term as Real Madrid president in 2015. Via a press release, Florentino Pérez admits he spoke on those terms about the team's legends, but he also added that most of the audios were "taken out of the general context".
The press release ends with Florentino Pérez hinting that his involvement in the Superleague fiasco had something to do with these leaks, and he vowed to take legal action against Abellán and El Confidencial for letting the audios out in the open.
