Barcelona have confirmed they have taken the initial steps towards filing a lawsuit against Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.
The club announced last month that legal action was being considered following a press conference by Perez, in which he made a series of explosive remarks.
In respect of Barcelona, Perez brought up the Negreira case, an ongoing investigation into payments totalling more than €7million made by Barca to José María Enríquez Negreira, the former referees’ committee vice president for the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), between 2001 and 2018.
Perez referred to the case as “the greatest scandal in history.”
He added: “It’s a case that remains unresolved and is still ongoing. Because it’s not just Madrid that’s harmed and Barca that’s benefited — although Barca has always benefited.”
In a statement released on Friday, Barcelona said: “FC Barcelona informs that, on this day, the mandatory conciliation claim prior to the filing of a criminal complaint for an offence of slander under Article 205 of the Penal Code has been submitted against the President of Real Madrid, Mr. Florentino Pérez, as a result of the statements made by him at the press conference held on 12 May and in an interview with a media outlet the following day.
“The purpose of this claim is for Mr. Pérez to retract certain statements that he made with knowledge of their falsity and which are slanderous and offensive to the image and reputation of the Club.
“Should this claim not be duly addressed, FC Barcelona will proceed with the filing of the corresponding criminal complaint.”
