Wu Haoyu, special correspondent of Sports Weekly in Spain
On Tuesday afternoon, Madrid was originally calm. Suddenly, Real Madrid officially announced that President Florentino Perez would hold a press conference in the Sports City. This suddenly caused shock to all parties, especially against the background of the recent turmoil within Real Madrid. People have all kinds of speculations, and these speculations are fermenting rapidly. Some people think that even someone like Mourinho will be declared the new leading coach by Florentino. Others speculate that when the situation within the club is turbulent, Buddha will choose to withdraw as he did 20 years ago. There is also the possibility of leaving or even retiring. There are also some opinions that Florentino will not announce any major decisions. He will only explain to the media all recent controversial events and clarify the person responsible for Real Madrid's lack of results at the competitive level in the past two seasons.
Denied rumors of resignation and angrily criticized reporters on the spot
At that time, the press conference was originally planned to start at 6 p.m. local time. Many reporters packed the press hall early, and all the cameras were properly placed, waiting for the so-called "big news" that they did not know. Until about 6:20, Florentino was standing in front of the press officer. Accompanied by him as he walked to the venue, the first words he spoke broke all speculations about resignation. He said: "I regret to inform you that I will not choose to resign. I have already submitted a request to the Election Committee to start the process of board election. We will definitely participate in the board election."
Later, Florentino added that he made this decision because of the personal attacks on him from the outside world. It is impossible to always win in sports. However, the outside world took advantage of this situation to attack him personally. Some people also spread rumors that he had a terminal illness. He took this opportunity to inform those who care about him that his health is perfect. United States, he is still serving as the chairman of Real Madrid. He also emphasized that Real Madrid is not a club owned by him alone. The club is jointly owned by 1,000 members. He made this decision because of the absurd situation provoked by the slander against the interests of the club and himself.
Before Florentino's press conference, the Spanish media "El Abese" reported that Florentino said he was "very tired" before the board of directors meeting. This news triggered speculation that Buddha might resign or announce his retirement. Florentino angrily denounced the reporter of this newspaper at the press conference and also criticized the Spanish media: "The newspaper that 'loves me very much' said that I was 'very tired', but do you think I would say such a thing at this time? That reporter, are you here?". If you are here, I will say hello to you. I want to ask you why you log out of such things. I always get up early and go to bed late every day, working non-stop. I can understand the frustration, after all, we won nothing this year, but I must tell you that during my time as president, we won 66 football and basketball titles, including 7 Champions Leagues. I will never tolerate someone dominating the media, and I must stand up and put a stop to it. Less than two years ago we won La Liga and the Champions League, but now you are saying that Real Madrid is in ruins and in a state of chaos, but how can you say that?
Then, Florentino had an argument with a reporter from "Abbese" on the spot. He said: "Look at the two articles you wrote today. They were written by a person who doesn't understand football at all." Then he talked about his first election for chairman in 2000. He said: "If someone wants to run for chairman of Real Madrid, but Don't bluff, just stand up and ask them to provide financial guarantees like I did in 2000. At that time, I guaranteed more than 170 million pesetas so that I could pay the wages of Roberto Carlos or Ilgona. I have to end the current anti-Real Madrid wave and defend the interests of the members."
In the subsequent question session, Buddha once again grabbed the local media tightly and refused to let go: "I have always paid attention to what the media is doing. As one of the top football clubs in the world, why do I have to endure their claims that Real Madrid is in a state of chaos? Anyone who wants to run can run for the chairmanship. I have enough money to serve as club chairman, and there is no need to use any means."
Throughout the press conference, Florentino was extremely emotional. He almost never stopped criticizing the media. He was also extremely impatient when faced with reporters' questions. He also interrupted reporters' questions several times and answered them first. Real Madrid's press officer once planned to end the press conference, but Buddha indicated that it could continue. It can be said that he ended the press conference only after venting all the pent-up dissatisfaction in his heart.
La Liga and Barcelona both came under fire
During this press conference, Florentino did not mention any sports-related topics related to Real Madrid in the past two seasons. He also categorically refused to discuss the subsequent personnel changes of the Real Madrid club, as well as the team's future recruitment plans. When asked whether the head coach of Real Madrid next season will be Mourinho, who has been rumored all over the world, Buddha suddenly interrupted the reporter directly: "While we will not talk about any sports-related topics tomorrow, our key point at this moment is to ensure that Real Madrid truly belongs to their members. I have to defend myself and at the same time protect the club. We will not talk about football today because there are more urgent matters that need me to deal with."
When asked about Real Madrid's poor performance this season and the recent conflicts in the locker room, Florentino said: "I have fired three coaches in one season. This is not the first time. It is not the first time that players fight with each other. They do this every season because they are competitive. The difference this time is that someone has spoken about it publicly, and we know who said it." Buddha once again mentioned his outstanding achievements, "No one can win 7 Champions League titles during his tenure."
What is not surprising is that Florentino once again mentioned the Barcelona and Negrrera case at the press conference, saying: "We already knew about the Negrrera case three years ago. It is a very important scandal in history. We will submit a thorough and detailed file to UEFA so that they can eliminate this problem from the root and work in the interests of world football." "Resolve this case." Buddha also expressed his opinion, saying, "Many members of Real Madrid will stand with me and fight together to face the Negreira case. This is beyond my expectation that Barcelona will donate money to the referee for 20 consecutive years. Since then, we have continued to follow this matter." Originally we had the opportunity to win 14 La Liga championship trophies, but now we have only won 7, and the rest have been taken away by others. So, how could I not get involved in the Negrrera case? The reason is that this is a corruption case that has been going on for many years, and the same referees are still obstructing it to this day. This year we also made a video of the 18 points they took from us throughout the season, which anyone watching on Real Madrid TV can see.
Florentino also declared: "For a long time, our strongest enemy has been La Liga." The poor relationship between Real Madrid and La Liga did not happen overnight. It is not only due to the European Super League. Real Madrid and La Liga have always had extremely serious differences on matters such as the distribution of broadcast revenue and overseas matches. Real Madrid is the only La Liga club that has not participated in the "Retro Match Day" promotion organized by La Liga this season. At the press conference, Buddha also indirectly mocked the city rival Atletico Madrid. He said: "Fortunately, the Real Madrid club belongs to the members, not a few journalists. I think they are all Atletico Madrid fans.". As I promised before, I will hand over the club's assets to the members, not like those club presidents who, after taking over the club, sell it to enrich themselves. Buddha's remarks are obviously an allusion to Atletico Madrid. The American Apollo Fund recently acquired a majority stake in Atletico Madrid.
'Trump-style speech' sparks outrage
I am very grateful to everyone who came here. I will come here again, not for myself, but for all the members. If those who are against Real Madrid continue to interfere with us, I will come here to express my opinion with all my strength, in order to defend the members of Real Madrid. Florentino Pérez will not leave unless the members want me to leave. Florentino ended the press conference with such a conclusion, which left many news media people who were criticized by him.
In such a situation of "venting anger", the Western media will naturally not give any positive comments about the Buddha. "Marca" wrote in its review article: "Florentino's appearance this time is really difficult to accept easily. He behaves neurotically, has a manic temper, is stubborn, and always repeats certain things over and over again. He is like a complete narcissist. He turned over several topics. He reiterated his words six or seven times and got into some pointless arguments with some colleagues. His view on the media has always been the same: he is dissatisfied with the media that he has no control over and the number is growing. His speech is full of half-truths, and he did not mention that he had planned to sell 49% of the club." While he was cooperating with Barcelona in the European Super League, he did not mention the Negrrera case at all. This speech was a very typical Trump speech, but with Biden-like energy.
"Aspa" has a Real Madrid team reporter named Jose Felix Dias. He wrote in a column that at about four o'clock in the afternoon, Real Madrid Chairman Florentino suddenly announced that he would hold a press conference. In the next two hours, all the media were speculating on what kind of remarks the Real Madrid Chairman would make after the board meeting. In view of the particularity of the current situation, people originally expected the chairman to conduct an in-depth analysis of the reasons for Real Madrid's dismal performance this season. However, the fact was not what people expected. The speech that might have been a criticism of the first team's performance this season turned into an attack on certain media. The chairman tried to blame the media for many problems this season. Florentino feels that now is not the right time to talk about sports affairs, but putting aside the battle with the media, what Real Madrid fans really want to know is the future trend of the first team. Real Madrid members all know that the club will not be in crisis under the current structure, but they still don't know where this team, which won the Champions League and La Liga championships two years ago, will go.
Of course, the "Abese newspaper" that Buddha was angry with in front of him would not follow his wishes. The article written by the newspaper said this: "Florentino is trying to cover up the failure of Real Madrid this season by attacking this newspaper without scruples. The president of Real Madrid called for elections at a press conference He took action, challenged his opponents, and accused the media of secretly plotting to destroy him and the Real Madrid club. "At the same time, the newspaper published an article stating: "The Abese newspaper will never lower its standards or shrink from its stance, and will always fulfill its journalistic responsibilities in accordance with the principles of prudence, honesty, and independence."
The words Florentino said at the press conference also angered Barcelona. The Barcelona club issued a statement on its official website: "The club's legal department is studying Florentino's remarks carefully and carefully and evaluating the subsequent steps to be taken." According to reports, At first, Barcelona did not take Florentino's press conference seriously because they felt it was creating a negative image for themselves. However, in view of Real Madrid's repeated similar remarks, Barcelona decided to issue this statement and formally evaluate whether to file charges against Real Madrid.