‘IT’S A CRISIS!’ Juls calls Florentino Perez's press conference a DISASTER 😳 | ESPN FC

0:00 Hello, and welcome into the latest edition of ESPN FC.

0:03 Alejandro Moreno is back in the studio [music] with us.

0:05 Shaka Hislop is here.

0:07 My name is Kay Murray.

0:08 We've got lots to talk about tonight,

0:11 but we will be kicking off in the Spanish capital,

0:13 which is why we are welcoming in Julien Laurens to tell

0:16 us a little bit more about what's been going on today,

0:19 because Florentino Pérez, the Real Madrid president,

0:22 called for a press conference.

0:23 Now, this doesn't happen often, Jules.

0:25 Why did it happen today?

0:29 No, you're right.

0:29 You say that hardly ever happens, to be fair,

0:32 halfway through the season like this, that Florentino

0:34 Pérez uh called the media for a press conference.

0:38 He didn't take any questions, by the way.

0:39 It was just him.

0:40 It was a It was a long monologue, him talking.

0:43 And I think clearly he wanted to make it about himself,

0:46 because we thought probably when we received the statement

0:49 from Real Madrid that there was this press conference,

0:51 we thought, "Okay, it's a difficult season.

0:53 It's a crisis.

0:55 We're not sure who's going to be the manager next season.

0:57 There's a lot of rebuilding to do with the squad."

0:59 There was a lot of things for Florentino to talk about,

1:01 which is which is fair.

1:03 And And I actually welcomed the the news.

1:05 I was like, "I say that's good.

1:06 This is It's rare that we hear presidents talking like

1:09 this or owners talking like this and things like that." And actually,

1:12 it was just about Florentino Pérez himself.

1:14 It was all about him from start to finish,

1:17 apart from a little bit around the Tchouaméni Valverde incident.

1:21 But apart from that, it was a it was a disaster class of a press conference.

1:25 I thought everything he said pretty much sounded wrong.

1:28 It sounded like not the right thing to say.

1:30 It's maybe because he he rarely does those, so

1:32 that he doesn't really know how to handle this press conferences.

1:35 But I thought today he had the occasion to put

1:38 some things right and to actually come out quite well.

1:43 And I thought in the end it was the complete opposite.

1:45 A lot of the the things that he said was wrong.

1:47 Yeah.

1:47 Well, as Jules did mention,

1:48 he did bring up the Federico Valverde Aurélien Tchouaméni incident.

1:52 Let's hear what he had to say about that.

1:57 Can we do another of the 26?

1:59 Okay, no.

2:43 We're just hearing different stories it seems

2:46 with this whole situation with this training

2:48 ground bust-up and this seems to be another one from Florentino Perez here.

2:52 So, Florentino Perez wants us, the media, the fans,

2:56 everybody around the world who follows Real Madrid and who's

2:59 interested in Real Madrid to thank This happens all the time.

3:05 Players fighting with each other, it's normal.

3:09 And while it may be normal that you will have in the training ground,

3:12 in the training facility,

3:13 practice, things get competitive and you may have a pushing,

3:17 shoving match here and there and everywhere.

3:20 What has been reported, it's completely different.

3:24 Now, you can believe Florentino Perez or you can believe the reports coming

3:28 from Real Madrid or you can believe Fede Valverde or you can believe Tchouameni.

3:31 And if you believe all those things or all those four participants,

3:36 you're believing four different stories.

3:39 You're believing four different stories.

3:41 How do we know this was a big deal?

3:42 It's not me making it up.

3:44 I I didn't levy or impose a fine, Real Madrid did.

3:50 And if this wasn't a big deal, then why are you finding Federico Valverde

3:55 and Aurelien Tchouaméni half a million euros?

3:58 If he was just a all right, a push and a shove and a you know,

4:03 just a kick here and a kick there and ah,

4:04 we see this all the time, then why make that statement with the fine?

4:10 Again, the stories coming out of Real Madrid are completely

4:13 different than what we see in the decisions they're making.

4:16 Their stories are everywhere and yet the decision that they make within

4:19 the club is to fine these players the amount that they did.

4:22 It's a much bigger deal than Florentino Pérez is trying to make it out to be.

4:26 But then, he's trying to make it out that the biggest

4:28 story out of all of this is a leak, which is again, bizarre.

4:32 Somebody fines me half a million euros,

4:34 that's that's that's that's that's the biggest story of my life.

4:38 Yes.

4:39 [laughter]

4:39 For now and forever.

4:40 Yeah, I'll be talking about that.

4:42 But now all of a sudden it's it's

4:43 it's not about the initial Real Madrid reaction,

4:47 it's not about Valverde's statement and then the fine, it's about the leak.

4:53 Now, however however Florentino Pérez or anybody else tries

4:57 to paint this, a player ended up in hospital.

5:01 I'm not sure how a club of Real Madrid's size,

5:05 stature, importance to Spanish football,

5:08 a player ends up in the hospital and that doesn't come out.

5:11 You you can start questioning leaks all you like.

5:15 From the time a player ends up in the hospital, it is going to come out.

5:20 So, now you all of a sudden Florentino

5:22 Pérez with everything else is trying to tell us,

5:25 "No, look over here.

5:27 Look it's Look at the birdie over here." Nobody is falling for that, Florentino.

5:32 Not in this situation.

5:34 This venting of Florentino Pérez has just made things worse.

5:40 There was a little bit more venting

5:42 as well from this press conference that was held

5:44 today where Florentino Pérez addressed the booing that we've

5:47 heard throughout the season from the Santiago Bernabeu.

5:50 Here's what he had to say.

6:18 Well, Jules, we're going to get to see

6:19 on Thursday if it's a thumbs up or a thumbs

6:21 down from the Bernabeu at the Roman circus because

6:24 they will be at home to face Real Oviedo.

6:27 This is going to be interesting.

6:30 Yeah, [snorts] and I actually don't care.

6:32 I think we we all know already it's going to be the thumb down.

6:36 Whether I don't I don't like when when fans

6:38 boo their players or, you know, whistle them, etc.

6:41 I can understand.

6:42 However, on this Florentino Perez is the leader,

6:45 the lead, the supremo leader of this club, right?

6:49 He's been in charge as a president between 2000

6:52 and 2006 and then since 2009 non-stop until now.

6:57 That's not how a leader behave.

6:59 This is not a leader.

7:00 A leader doesn't just attack his own fans by saying you shouldn't boo.

7:05 Why?

7:05 This The results have been bad, the performance have been bad.

7:08 I think the fans are allowed to show their frustration,

7:11 to show that they're not happy, to show their discontent.

7:13 If you're Florentino Perez If you're a a real leader, you say we're sorry.

7:18 We we we understand your frustration.

7:20 It's been a bad season and we're going to do

7:22 everything we can so that it doesn't happen next season.

7:25 And we're going to build something bigger and stronger.

7:26 And instead, he was just pointing the finger at the fans

7:29 and some of the ultras and contamination and this and that.

7:33 Before that, he attacked the the media that follow the club.

7:36 He attacked everybody following the club on top of the leak

7:39 and everything and people making up lies around him and on him

7:43 is his cancer or the fact that he's not well

7:45 and and things like that and obviously the fact that he

7:48 was not going to resign but yet he still called

7:49 elections for which he would have to resign by the way

7:52 otherwise he can't be reelected and just on this if you

7:55 want to be elected as the president of Real Madrid if

7:59 Shakhtar wants for example to be a candidate and say what

8:01 about me you would need [snorts] to have been a social

8:03 for more than 20 years and have a fortune

8:06 of at least 187 million dollars which I think Shakhtar is not

8:10 too far probably in his personal fortune but Ali and I

8:13 in UK can definitely not stand as as as a candidate

8:16 for the for those elections so there won't be that many

8:19 people who can actually go against Florentino in the next elections.

8:22 Yes Shaq.

8:23 Yeah well Well I've been hiding that money.

8:25 After I've paid that after I've paid my half

8:26 a million fine for fighting I'm I'm living with Jules.

8:31 [laughter] Apparently so.

8:32 We're all moving in with Jules.

8:33 I'm moving to Jules Chateau.

8:34 Where are you on Florentino Perez bringing

8:37 up this booing that we've heard for most

8:38 of the season cuz remember even the players

8:39 themselves have been saying sorry to the defense.

8:42 I again I I listen I I don't get it.

8:44 It's been a disappointing season.

8:46 Everybody knows that.

8:48 Nobody needs me to point that out to to Florentino Perez and that's

8:52 how the fans will react not just once but twice during the course

8:56 of the season and then given everything that went on during the season

9:00 whether we talking about Xabi Alonso

9:02 his dismissal or Vinicius Junior and his behavior

9:06 whatever it is you go two seasons back to back with with no

9:09 silverware you are going to get that and and to that point if

9:13 you call a press conference address that address how it's not going

9:17 to be three seasons not you're a little bit too harsh on us here.

9:22 Those are the standards you set for yourself as a football club.

9:25 I I I don't I just don't see how I

9:29 feel that somebody needs to explain this to Florentino Perez.

9:32 I find this amazing on so many levels.

9:34 The whole tone of the press conference from the moment he sat down was defiant.

9:43 Yeah.

9:41 In every way.

9:43 There was never an admission of guilt.

9:46 There was never an admission of we have come up short.

9:50 There was never an admission of this could be better,

9:54 this needs to be better, and I'm part of it.

9:57 There was never any of that.

9:58 There was every bit of telling all of us,

10:02 not only how many titles has Real Madrid won, soccer titles.

10:08 He also told us about the basketball titles.

10:10 I'm sure you were interested in those, right?

10:12 Yeah, yeah.

10:13 Over his tenure, he was telling us that according

10:15 to this source and according to that source, Real Madrid is the biggest club,

10:19 the most expensive club, that all of this have been achieved,

10:23 all of these things have been achieved in his tenure.

10:25 Defending his tenure.

10:28 And also saying with uh a tinge of arrogance,

10:32 and I think Jules would agree with this, uh saying, "Oh, sure.

10:36 Where are those that want to run against me?

10:38 All those that have been running

10:40 this negative campaign against me through the media.

10:43 Now you'll get the chance to actually run against me." As if to say, "Good luck.

10:49 I'll open it up I'll open it up for elections,

10:52 and all of you that apparently you have a say or you

10:56 have an opinion as to how this club should be run, I want to see who you are.

10:59 Come out into the open, huh?

11:01 Tell the world what your plan is for Real Madrid." And he is basically saying,

11:07 "I'm not going anywhere." It's the first thing he said when he sat down.

11:11 No va a ver dimisión, which was the rumor.

11:15 I'm not going to resign.

11:16 The rumor was that this was such a momentous occasion

11:19 that he was going to speak that and he was by himself.

11:22 The Think of the optics.

11:23 It was just one chair, one microphone,

11:25 and and then you had the Real Madrid logo behind him, and you're thinking,

11:29 "By himself, what is this guy going to do?" And the first

11:32 thing he said when he sat down, "I'm not resigning.

11:35 I'm opening up for elections and basically, I know I'm going to win.

11:39 So, all of you, you can continue your negative

11:42 campaign and it doesn't work." We are above

11:45 this and that tells you that the level

11:48 of arrogance goes beyond anything that we can understand.

11:50 He even mentioned the Negreira case as a reason as to why

11:53 Real Madrid continues to be in in some way targeted by officials,

11:59 as to why they're not winning certain things.

12:02 If you're hanging on to those things instead of addressing what's

12:05 actually going on inside a locker room and on the field,

12:08 then Real Madrid is going to continue to go backwards rather than forwards.

12:11 Going to be a long summer, it seems, at Real Madrid, Jules.

12:17 Yeah, yeah, it will be and Ali is completely right.

12:19 I think they they will go backwards if they don't change something in there.

12:23 Florentino himself Um the the elections were in 3 years time,

12:28 so he's moving them forwards.

12:29 It would be It would It would mean nothing because nothing will change again.

12:33 He will be reelected.

12:34 He will say, "Look, I had 80%

12:37 of the votes if not more because he might actually,

12:39 by the way, be the the only candidate in here.

12:42 So, it's either you vote blank or you vote for him.

12:45 Um so, he's going to win again and say, "Look, this is it.

12:48 They've chosen me and I'm going to rebuild

12:50 this." But, how are you going to rebuild this?

12:51 That's what we wanted to to to know today.

12:53 This is what was the most interesting for all of us.

12:56 Okay, he's not resigning, fine.

12:57 So, what are you going to do for this team to get better?

12:59 Because the gap between them and Barcelona

13:00 is just getting bigger and bigger and bigger.

13:03 And by the way, they are far far much more money than what Barcelona have.

13:06 And yet, even with that financial power, look at where they are again.

13:10 So, it's going to be a big summer in terms of rebuilding the club,

13:13 finding the right manager,

13:15 maybe even resetting the identity and the DNA of that club with the new manager,

13:20 with maybe a new team around him, too.

13:22 Because even that, as we've seen with the fight between Tchouaméni and Valverde,

13:25 it seems to be a far far away from the great years.

13:29 Yeah.

13:29 [music]