Florentino Pérez: “If Vinicius doesn’t want to be at Madrid and wants to sign elsewhere, he will be free to do so”
· Yahoo Sports
Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez, who is expected to get re-elected next weekend, talked in an interview with El País and shared some interesting thoughts on the club’s vision, its present and its future.
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When asked about Vinicius, Pérez said the following:
There is time [to sign an extension]. I would love for him to stay for the rest of his life. He is deeply identified with the club. You know who doesn’t like him? People who aren’t Real Madrid fans. If he doesn’t want to be at Madrid and wants to sign with someone else, he will be free to do so. I’m not going to force him into anything. Money will not be the most important factor—it never has been.
Florentino then revealed his intentions to change the ownership model.
I am going to grant economic ownership of the club to its 100,000 members. Being a Real Madrid member will no longer just be a sentimental bond… they will also be lifelong owners of the club’s assets. Immediately following the election, I intend to convene an assembly and hold a referendum.
Naturally, Barcelona and Negreira came up.
When the UEFA investigator reviews the documentation, I don’t know what sanction they might impose, but I have never seen anything more serious than this in the history of football. It is systemic corruption. The football world expects sports justice to be forceful in the Negreira case. They were paying the vice president of the referees, and today, those same referees are still officiating games. I have never seen anything more serious than this in the history of football. It is systemic corruption. The football world expects sports justice to be forceful in the Negreira case.
He was asked about his quotes saying that Real Madrid and Barcelona needed to help each other.
If Barça were a normal club, why wouldn’t we help each other? But when you find out they’ve been paying the vice president of referees for 20 years… that was the day everything changed for me, and I was the first to take legal action. I never went back to the Camp Nou. I will not stop until this is cleared up.
He also shared his thoughts on the Mbappé and Vinicius partnership.
I think it’s nonsense. They are the two best players in the world. Vinicius has won us two Champions Leagues. But we shouldn’t lose our minds either. This idea that you have to win the Champions League every single year is foolish; nobody else has won six in ten years.
You can find the full interview (behind El País’ paywall) here.