Florentino Perez: “Mbappé dreamed of Real Madrid, but has changed. Super League? He’s still away”

Ninety minutes. An hour and a half of interview, this is what Florentino Perez gave to the Chiringuito grandstand, a curious, noisy, theatrical night broadcast of the Spanish football scene. The same place where the Madrid president decided to present the Superlega, just over a year ago. Perez doesn’t give interviews, and if he does, that’s his stage. Many topics touched, here you will find the highlights. Starting with Kylian Mbappé, of course. In the 2021 interview Florentino had invited all the madridisti, starting with the many of the Chiringuito, to calm down, taking for granted the arrival of the French. And in fact those of the Chiringuito have always been sure of it. Because they had a direct source. Then things turned out differently.

The Mbappé exchange

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“Mbappé’s dream was to play for Real Madrid. We wanted to close last August but they didn’t let him go. He went on to say he wanted to play for Real Madrid, then 15 days before the decision he changed his mind. On the one hand there was economic pressure, on the other there was political pressure ”. Then the repeated criticism of the player-trade unionist: “When we saw that he refused to participate in a collective publicity event for the national team, we were surprised: football is a team sport. ‘This is not the Mbappé we wanted to take, it has changed’ we thought. He is young, the pressure affects everyone, it is clear that the call of the President of the Republic has an effect, that it conditions him, as well as that of the mayor of Paris. Although it doesn’t make much sense to call him the president of France as there are other clubs there as well. Since they started putting pressure on him he has become someone else ”.

Door not closed

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But the door remains open: “I love him a lot. He had made an effort, the pressure forced him to change. The mother wanted her to come because this had been her dream since she was a child. They tell me she was upset ”. The absence of a pre-contract, which everyone here in Madrid took for granted: “It can’t be done. You have to communicate this to the club and the signing of an agreement would have caused a great disturbance. He had to wait for his contract to expire. However, the Mbappé who wanted to come here is not this, and if so I prefer him to stay at PSG. I wanted the one in the dream. In three years? We will see. This Mbappé is not my Mbappé, the one who refuses to participate in an advertising act with the national team I do not want him. It may have been a slip of the tongue, but I think they confused it. ”

Zidane

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The dig: “Can he train PSG? I’ve always felt that he wanted Madrid and the French national team, but maybe he too has changed his mind. ”

Market

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“We didn’t get Haaland because we have Benzema, who is the best 9 in the world. It was useless to take him to make him bench. At the moment our market is at a standstill, because there is no room for anyone: 3 have gone, we have taken 3. Let’s see who will leave and then in case we will move. Asensio? You have to ask Jose Angel Sanchez, who is the sporting director ”.

Golden balls

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“Vinicius will win it, sure as the fact that this year Benzema wins. And you will see how well Rodrygo will do ”.

The new Bernabeu

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“We play 26-27 games a year in our stadium and we thought we would use it a lot more for many other things, even considering its central location. It will open at the end of next season, the pandemic has brought a delay in the delivery of materials, as well as an increase in prices, and it will be a huge source of income for us ”.

Tebas and La Liga

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“The president of La Liga does not support Real Madrid against PSG. I don’t feel supported by Tebas, rather I feel damaged. We have a lawsuit against La Liga for a commercial agreement (the one linked to the CVC Fund, ed) which is illegal for us. It is certainly illegal, because it breaks a law. We will see you in court and we will go to the end “.

Defense of Barcelona

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“Barça is a serious club that like us has denounced this situation of illegality. I don’t think he enters the agreement with La Liga now. Barça is one of the great clubs in the world, worth 4-5 billion. Now he is going through a difficult moment, but he has the means to get out of the crisis and I am sure that we will soon see the great Clasicos again, a game that sees 600 million people. I have an excellent relationship with Laporta, we talk often “.

Superalloy

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“Of course she is still alive. There is now an important issue on the table which will be discussed in a Luxembourg court. We believe we have the right, within the European Union, to organize sports competitions. It seems to us that UEFA is operating in a monopoly regime and one of the pillars of the Europe of 27 is free competition. No, we have never been afraid of being expelled from the Champions League “.

Ancelotti

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“I thanked him for coming back. The air in the locker room is very good, there is a great environment. He is a man who treats all players very well to him. And then we showed great physical preparation, we ran more than anyone ”. Antonio Pintus will be happy.