FC Barcelona have confirmed that they have taken initial legal steps toward filing a lawsuit against Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez over alleged defamatory statements made against the club.
The development follows comments reportedly made by Pérez in which he accused Barcelona of benefiting from refereeing decisions and “stealing” titles from the Madrid-based club, with references linked to the ongoing Negreira case controversy.
In a statement released by the Catalan club, Barcelona said it has formally submitted a mandatory conciliation request, as required under Article 205 of the Spanish Penal Code, ahead of a potential defamation lawsuit.
The club noted that the legal action relates to remarks made by Pérez during a press conference on May 12 and in a subsequent media interview the following day.
Barcelona stated that while it does not intend to cause personal harm to the Real Madrid president, it is demanding a retraction of what it describes as false and damaging allegations against the club’s reputation.
According to the official statement, the club is prepared to proceed with a criminal complaint if Pérez refuses to withdraw the comments.
“FC Barcelona reports that today it has filed the required conciliation request prior to filing a lawsuit for the crime of slander under Article 205 of the Penal Code against the President of Real Madrid, Mr. Florentino Pérez, as a result of the statements made by him at the press conference on May 12 and in an interview with a media outlet the following day,” the statement read.
“The objective of this lawsuit is for Mr. Pérez to retract certain statements he made knowing them to be false, statements that are slanderous and offensive to the image and reputation of the Club. Should this demand not be properly addressed, FC Barcelona will proceed to file the corresponding criminal complaint.”
Pérez had previously dismissed concerns over possible legal action, insisting that he stood by his comments regarding Barcelona and the Negreira case.