Real Madrid president after the audio leak: I am the victim of a conspiracy because of the Super League

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has claimed that he is the victim of a conspiracy related to his role in launching the stillborn European Super League, after a local newspaper published an old audio recording of him criticizing Real Madrid legends Iker Casillas and Raul Gonzalez in a derogatory manner.

The online newspaper El Confidencial published an audio recording of Perez dating back to 2006 after his first term as president of Real, which ended with his resignation in February of that year.

Perez said in the audio recording that "Casillas is not a suitable goalkeeper for Real Madrid. He never will be. It was a miserable failure," adding, "The problem is that people adore him, love him, talk to him, defend him a lot." Perez, who returned to the presidency of the club in 2009, considered in the audio recording that Casillas, who is considered one of the legends of Real after defending his lair from 1999 to 2015, was "the most fraudulent and deceitful and Raoul comes after him", referring to the legendary scorer Raul Gonzalez, who defended White Castle colors from 1994 to 2010.

And Perez reiterated that "the biggest cheats in the history of Real Madrid are Raul first and Casillas second." These statements were previously made public in 2015 in a book by journalist Jose Antonio Appian entitled "The Attack on Real Madrid". And in a statement published today by Real Madrid on its official website, Perez said that Abian recorded these statements in secret, considering that the timing of their publication in this period is due to his role in launching the European Super League, which aborted less than 48 hours after its launch, but Real clubs and rivals Barcelona and Juventus. It is still committed to the project, unlike the other nine founding clubs that withdrew from it.

"These statements are taken from conversations that Jose Antonio Appian has secretly recorded and that he has been trying to sell for several years without success," Perez said in the statement, adding, "These are loose phrases that have been taken out of their broad context."

He continued, "It is being reproduced now, after many years have passed. I think the reason for that is due to my role as one of the promoters of the Super League."

Perez concluded by saying that lawyers are "considering the measures that can be taken."

Perez assumed the presidency of Real for the first time from 2000 to February 2006, then returned to the position in 2009 and will remain in it until 2025 after he was elected by acclamation last April for a sixth term.

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