Tebas Takes Aim at Florentino, Defends LaLiga and Slams Premier League Comparisons
LaLiga chief Javier Tebas fires back at Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez over the Super League saga and much more in a wide-ranging interview.
Javier Tebas doesn’t do quiet. The LaLiga president sat down with ABC for one of those interviews where absolutely nothing is off limits — and he did not disappoint.
Florentino’s ‘Victory’ Narrative? Tebas Isn’t Buying It
With the Super League project effectively dead and buried, Real Madrid have been keen to frame the whole episode as some sort of moral triumph. Tebas is having absolutely none of it.
His take is that Florentino Pérez has a well-oiled machine of loyalists who’ll spin any outcome into a win — but behind the spin, Tebas sees a retreat, plain and simple. “Florentino creates a narrative with his people that he has won, but I don’t see that he has won, not by a long shot” is essentially his read on the whole thing. Classic Tebas — blunt, a little spiky, and not exactly going to smooth things over with the Bernabéu any time soon.
The Negreira Case: Complicated, But Not What Some Are Claiming
Tebas was also asked about the so-called ‘Negreira case’ — the long-running controversy involving payments made by Barcelona to a former refereeing official. His position is nuanced:
- He acknowledges LaLiga’s hands are somewhat tied by Spanish law, including a three-year statute of limitations on these kinds of offences
- He’s personally pushed for longer prescription periods on sports corruption
- But he’s firmly against the idea that referees were straightforwardly being bought — and takes a clear swipe at Florentino for allegedly suggesting in a shareholders’ meeting that missed penalties against Vinícius were somehow Negreira’s doing
The courts will decide, he says. Fair enough.
Rayo’s Pitch, Premier League Envy, and a Bullfighting Confession
A few other bits worth flagging from the interview:
- Rayo’s waterlogged pitch (which forced a postponement against Oviedo): Tebas doesn’t blame the club or LaLiga, but reckons he gets the stick for everything regardless — his words, not mine
- Premier League comparisons: This one clearly gets right on his wick. He argues it’s like comparing a Minardi to a front-running Formula 1 car — England has 70 million people, 30% higher per capita income, and far greater pay-TV penetration. He’d rather be compared to Germany, Italy or France, where LaLiga is actually ahead
- Is he a Real Madrid fan? Yes, apparently — but he’s quick to clarify that supporting the club doesn’t mean following its president “like a Messiah”
- Bullfighting over football: In a proper curveball, Tebas admits that if a Morante de la Puebla bullfight clashed with a Real Madrid game, he’d go to the corrida. Each to their own, mate
The Miami Protest Broadcast Row
Finally, on why LaLiga didn’t broadcast the players’ ten-second protest over the Clásico being played in Miami — Tebas is unapologetic. The product comes first, he says. You wouldn’t broadcast a streaker, so why show a coordinated stunt designed to embarrass the league? Controversial, but at least he’s consistent.
Love him or loathe him, Tebas is never short of something to say.