Hours after being confirmed as Real Madrid president for a fifth term, Florentino Perez spoke to Jose Ramon de la Morena on El Transistor on Onda Cero. Of course, the interview focused on Cristiano Ronaldo, who is upset and wants to leave Spain this summer after being accused of tax evasion last week.
"I have not spoken with Ronaldo." Perez claimed. "The last time I spoke with him was in Cardiff after the Champions League final and he was happy. During the election period I’ve tried to be respectful and keep out of everything.
"I learned of the [reports] through what a newspaper said. He’s immersed in the Confederations Cup at the moment, which is an important competition, and for the moment there’s nothing until that ends. Like the all other players, though, he has a contract and is a Real Madrid player."
Perez levelled the blame at the press, adding: "I’ve been affected by how the Cristiano news has been treated by the media. The presumption of innocence has not been respected. The only thing I know is that he’s angry about the treatment the media have given him. [Jorge] Mendes called me and told me that."
And on the tax issues he stressed the Madrid forward's innocence: "I will defend [Ronaldo] at all costs as both a player and as person. [I have] complete confidence [that he is innocent], he has always wanted to fulfil his fiscal commitments.
"There must be some sort of confusion which will be clarified. What I have been told is that he has the same structure [in Spain] that he had in England -- and there was no problem there.
RELATED STORIES
"Cristiano didn’t try to hear anyone because he has not hidden anything. He presented everything to the tax office, his lawyers came out and gave all the necessary explanations."