Barcelona chief blasts Florentino Perez for 'pathetic' attacks and accuses president of 'covering up' Real Madrid's disastrous two years

Speaking ahead of Barcelona’s clash with Alaves, Yuste did not hold back in his assessment of Perez’s recent press conference. The Barca chief suggested that the accusations regarding the Negreira case and refereeing bias are merely a tactic to distract from Real Madrid’s lack of domestic success relative to their Catalan rivals.

“The words of Florentino seemed pathetic and full of falsehoods,” Yuste stated. “This maneuver by Florentino Perez to cover up a sporting disaster that has lasted for two years will lead him nowhere. It’s a smoke screen to try to justify poor sporting management. We Cules are very happy and nothing will take away our happiness.”

The tension stems from Perez’s extraordinary claim that he should have won double the amount of silverware during his tenure. The Madrid chief recently suggested his league titles could have been 14 because they’ve been stolen, a statement that Yuste finds factually incorrect and insulting to the efforts of the current Barca squad.

“Seven Leagues stolen? This is a total falsehood. It is not like that, objectively speaking,” Yuste countered. “He will know, but we are going to defend ourselves; we owe it to the fans and the club. Nobody touches this club. It’s not worth talking about Negreira again when we have won two Leagues with a project featuring La Masia players and others who have arrived from outside.”

While the verbal barbs continue to fly, Barcelona are already preparing an official response through their legal channels. The club maintains that all payments made to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira were for legitimate technical reports and has expressed its readiness to fight the allegations in court if necessary.

“There are no updates yet on possible legal actions. The matter has been in the hands of the legal department since yesterday and when we have more developments we will pass them on to you,” Yuste explained. “But red lines can never be crossed and this man already crossed them. I saw the press conference later, and it didn’t make me laugh or cry. It made me feel sad.”

Despite the frosty relations between the two presidents, Yuste noted that other members of the Real Madrid hierarchy have maintained a level of professionalism. He was careful to distinguish between Perez’s personal crusade and the conduct of other high-ranking officials at the Santiago Bernabeu.

“On Sunday, Pirri, honorary president, and part of his board came with Emilio Butragueno as well. They were very good and very kind,” Yuste admitted. “To them, I have nothing to say, but the maximum representative of the club is the president and when he makes statements like that, I classify them as pathetic and untrue.”