Real Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa has laughed off the accusations of former Barcelona President Joan Laporta in his pre-match press conference before his side face Manchester City in the Champions League. Laporta, who is running for re-election this week, has defended Barcelona’s payments to the former vice-president of the Referees Committee (CTA) Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.
On Monday night, Laporta claimed that the CTA was run by people linked to Real Madrid for 72 years, and that he was sure that Los Blancos had done similar. His line has been that Barcelona are innocent of any wrongdoing. Arbeloa has previously referred to it as the biggest scandal in football history. When Laporta’s claims were put to Arbeloa, the Real Madrid manager laughed them off.
“Who said that? (Laporta – laughs) Ah, yes, candidate Laporta! I think he was the one who quadrupled the payments to Negreira. So there’s not much more to say.”
‘We shouldn’t feel inferior to anyone’
On the propect of facing Manchester City more precisely, Arbeloa called on the fans at the Bernabeu to get behind them.
“It’s a tough one… one where we need the fans. We’ll be highly motivated. The Champions League is very special for us.”
In January, Arbeloa had commented that Real Madrid are favourites in every competition they play.
“If I said it, I mean it. We shouldn’t feel inferior to anyone. We know how difficult this tie is going to be, but we’re going to face it with great enthusiasm. Looking them in the eye.”
‘Guardiola always has a surprise up his sleeve’ – Arbeloa
It will be Arbeloa’s first meeting with Pep Guardiola on the touchline, having come up against his Barcelona and Bayern Munich sides on multiple occasions as a player.
“He always has a surprise up his sleeve. No matter how many times you watch his teams, you know there’s always something in store, and you have to be prepared for the many variations that might appear. I’d be very surprised if there wasn’t some new formation or new player. He always tends to overthink his tactics.”
Guardiola will be back at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night at 21:00 CEST, with the return leg next Tuesday at the Etihad.
