Real Madrid presidential hopeful Enrique Riquelme has taken aim at Barcelona and says he would love to see the Catalan “disappear.”
The 37-year-old is going up against Florentino Perez and has been doing the rounds recently, talking about a number of topics and unable to resist a few digs at La Liga’s champions.
“I want to see Barcelona in the Second Division. I would love to. I wouldn’t have any problems and I’d be happy,” he told The Wild Project.
“And it is not disrespectful. I would also like Barcelona
to disappear. I wouldn’t have any problems.”
Riquelme has also spoken to Mundo Deportivo and followed in Perez’s footsteps by insisting Barca have been stealing titles from Madrid.
“There’s the Negreira case. And once you’ve finished laughing at us about that, now, yes, the Negreira case. That needs to be tackled from the beginning. It’s a disgrace, it’s a fact, you’ve robbed us,” he explained.
“But there have clearly been payments to Negreira, for the referees, which have really favored Barcelona and harmed Real Madrid. But what’s the deal? As long as this is happening because there’s interest in the Super League, which in turn has a personal financial interest, there’s no problem.
“Barcelona as a club was down and out, and Florentino Pérez asked for a strong Barça and helped you. And now you’ve won two league titles.
“I want a strong Real Madrid. I wouldn’t have helped Barcelona; I would have gone all out against Negreira. These are things that worry me as a Madridista and a member, and clearly, that’s what happened. I wish these elections had been held four years ago. ”
His comments come after another trophyless season for Madrid, while Barcelona successfully retained their La Liga title and finished eight points clear of Los Blancos. The elections are due to be held on June 7th.
