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Gaspar spoke about the personality of the president of “Real Madrid” and the atmosphere before El Clasico
The former president of “Barcelona” Juan Gaspar spoke about the current president of “Real Madrid” Florentino Perez and called him a “sports fraud”.
Gaspar said in his statements to the Spanish TVE channel. “On a personal level, Florentino Perez is a wonderful person. On a professional level, he is brilliant and exceptional, on a sporting level, a fraud,” referring to the personality of the Real Madrid president and his management method.
Gaspard, who was in charge of Barcelona between 2000 and 2003, addressed an old controversy that saw him considered persona non grata at the Santiago Bernabeu.
He explained that the crisis began after what he believed to be his statements about the absence of women from the main box at the Real Madrid stadium, saying: “The only woman present in the cabin was the bathroom attendant.”
The remarks sparked widespread criticism, with Gaspar revealing that Florentino Perez called him a few hours after the announcement to say that the wives of Real Madrid officials had told their husbands that “if Gaspar came back to the cabin, they wouldn’t be having dinner at home”.
The crisis later prompted Real Madrid to send an official letter against him, which Gaspard still keeps in his home “as if it were a certificate of appreciation”, as he put it.
The former Barcelona president also recalled the story of Portuguese Luis Figo’s move to Real Madrid, explaining that on the same night he was elected president of the Catalan club, Figo called him to inform him that his agent had signed a clause obliging him to move to Real Madrid if he did not pay 500 million pesetas.
According to Gaspar, the Portuguese star asked him for a bank guarantee to thwart the deal, but he refused, saying: “Imagine if I gave him a guarantee and he lost the election. I would not sit here now. “Barcelona” fans will follow me, thinking that the club pays the subscriptions of “Real”.
Barcelona are set to face Real Madrid next Sunday in another Clasico awaited at the summit as Barca look to get off to a positive start in their bid to clinch the La Liga title.
