On the pitch, Real Madrid is responding to FC Barcelona , crowned Spanish champions last season. Top of the table with a five-point lead over the Blaugrana and winners of the last Clasico (2-1), Los Blancos have bounced back after a very difficult 2024/2025 season. But behind the scenes, the atmosphere is more tense with their Catalan rivals. Recent years had, however, seen Florentino Pérez and Joan Laporte grow closer. " If we put aside the feuds, Barça and Real Madrid must help each other. I say this in all sincerity. Real Madrid is the number one club in the world, but Barça is among the greats. The Clasico, the history, and everything else—we have to consider that it's one of the greatest clubs in the world. Why should we be angry?" " said the boss of Casa Blanca at last year's Assembly of Delegates.
A union of extremes that may have surprised some, but was justified by the shared project of the European Super League. Today, everything has fallen apart. While Real Madrid received a favorable court ruling from a Madrid tribunal and is claiming approximately €4.5 billion in damages from UEFA, Pérez is now alone in his fight. At the beginning of the month, Joan Laporta abandoned his temporary Madrid partner to align himself with the EFC (European Football Club, the new name for the ECA, the European Club Association). "The president of the ECA invited us. We calmly accepted the invitation. We are for peace in European football. We want to reach an agreement and return to UEFA. That's what all the clubs want. Coming here allows us to generate good things ," Laporta told El Chiringuito .
Madrid and Barcelona return the favor
This rapprochement with UEFA had logically delighted the president of EFC, none other than Nasser Al-Khelaïfi. "Today, I welcome a special guest. Sometimes friends disagree, that's normal, but they always end up reconciling for the good of all. He has breathed new life into his club, both on the pitch with a young and talented team and off it with an exceptional new stadium ," the head of EFC and PSG had stated. In its edition today, Sport confirms that this event contributed to the now-complete divorce between Pérez and Laporta. "The Florentino-Laporta divorce has unresolved issues. Relations between the presidents of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona have deteriorated in recent weeks, particularly after several episodes in which La Liga and UEFA also played a significant role."
In short, Madrid considers Barça's return to UEFA a betrayal. Already abandoned by the big English and Italian clubs, Florentino Pérez has lost his last ally in the Super League battle. However, Barça also has grievances against Real Madrid. The first concerns the Negreira affair. Previously passive, Real Madrid has become more aggressive. Sport reports that the Merengue club "requested that a file it submitted to Barcelona's Court No. 1 be included in its complaint, containing statements made by Joan Gaspart, Toni Freixa, Alfons Godall, and Albert Perrin to various media outlets." Recently summoned to appear in this case as a suspect , Barça understandably did not appreciate its Madrid rival's decision to obstruct it. Finally, Madrid considered the cancellation of the La Liga match in Miami between Villarreal and Barça a huge victory. A match that was supposed to bring in €5 million for Barcelona. But in response to Real Madrid's public statements, the organizing company and La Liga decided to cancel everything. As you can see, everyone is retaliating.
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