Javier Tebas has launched another attack on Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, saying he is obliged to defend La Liga’s reputation and the interests of every club involved in the competition.
The La Liga president was responding to an article in El Debate by journalist Tomas Gonzalez-Martin, headlined “Javier Tebas tries to justify his excesses by clinging to anything”. Tebas published his reply on his official X account under the title “Who is attacking whom?”
Gonzalez-Martin had argued that the La Liga president should not spend his time attacking one of the league’s partners. Tebas said that view ignored “the fundamental issue” of accusations made by Perez and Real Madrid’s official channels against La Liga, its management and the integrity of the competition over several years.
Tebas listed what he described as “some facts among many” in support of his position.
He said Perez had presented the CVC investment fund agreement at Real Madrid’s 2023 and 2024 general assemblies as an attempt to seize the club’s assets. Tebas added that two court rulings, one at first instance and another on appeal, had upheld the agreement and supported La Liga and the 38 clubs that joined it.
He also referred to a Real Madrid board statement dated 10 August 2025, saying Perez had threatened La Liga and CVC with “all kinds of legal action”.
On 3 February 2025, Real Madrid’s board accused the competition of having a “structurally corrupt system”, manipulating matches and damaging its integrity, Tebas said.
He added that Perez had described La Liga as Real Madrid’s “permanent enemy” at a news conference on 12 May 2026, while claiming the club could have won more league titles but had been “robbed” of others.
Tebas also cited language used by Real Madrid TV. After Rayo Vallecano v Real Madrid on 14 December 2024, it called the competition the “filthy Negreira League”. Following Espanyol v Real Madrid on 1 February 2025, it repeated that phrase and referred to the “executors of the Medina Cantalejo plan”.
After Osasuna v Real Madrid on 15 February 2025, the league was labelled the “League of Deception” and the “Medina Cantalejo, Tebas and Lozano League”. On 4 August 2025, Real Madrid TV director Jesus Alcaide said the season was beginning “already distorted” and “amid filth” over the fixture schedule and the refusal to postpone the opening match against Osasuna.
On 10 October 2026, during Real Madrid’s match against Villarreal, the channel used the phrases “a distorted and corrupt league”, “there is systematic corruption” and “the filthy Negreira League”.
“These are statements by the club president, decisions by its board and messages broadcast by the club’s official television channel,” Tebas wrote. “They are all public and verifiable.”
He said it was a “comfortable theory” to portray the competition as corrupt, its officials as enemies and its administration as part of a conspiracy against Real Madrid, while treating any defence of La Liga as an attack on the club.
Tebas added: “My responsibility includes protecting the reputation of the competition and defending the interests of all the clubs taking part, even when the person questioning it is the president of Real Madrid. The club’s history and status deserve respect, but they do not give it immunity from criticism or require others to remain silent.”
He rejected what he called the constant conflation of Perez with Real Madrid, saying criticism of the president, his actions and the club’s television output formed part of the debate over how football is run in Spain.
Tebas also said he was still awaiting an explanation over why references to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels were considered acceptable when made about Pedro Sanchez, Josep Borrell, Oscar Puente, Mariano Rajoy and others, but unacceptable when made by him.
Responding to Gonzalez-Martin’s claim that Real Madrid gives La Liga its meaning, Tebas said the league derived its purpose from the competition itself and from the other clubs, their history, supporters, rights and interests. He concluded that the league president must defend those clubs, even if it annoyed Perez or appeared excessive to Gonzalez-Martin.
