Florentino Perez Summoned on November 25 Over Barcelona Libel Claim

The legal battle between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona has moved into court. Florentino Perez is now expected in a Madrid courthouse on November 25 at 9:40 a.m. for a conciliation hearing linked to the libel claim filed by the Catalan club. The session, set for courtroom 1/2, will put the Real Madrid president face to face with Barcelona's legal team after comments that have escalated all the way to the justice system.

• Florentino Perez and FC Barcelona meet on November 25 at 9:40 in a Madrid court.
• The conciliation hearing follows the libel claim filed by Barcelona.
• The Catalan club is demanding a public retraction from the Real Madrid president.
• If he fails to appear or refuses to retract, Barcelona will file a criminal complaint.

What Is at Stake for Florentino Perez on November 25

A conciliation hearing is a required step before a criminal libel complaint can proceed. Barcelona wants the Real Madrid president to retract statements made on May 12 during a press conference and again the following day in an interview. If Florentino Perez does not show up, or turns up without backing down, Barcelona's legal team has already said it will formalize the criminal complaint. That would push the dispute from a preliminary civil procedure into a full criminal case.

The Florentino Perez Comments on the Negreira Case That Ended Up in Court

The corruption in the Negreira case is systemic. It is the biggest scandal in history. Barcelona always comes out on top. How can we forget the biggest corruption case in the history of the game. Let's see if we are serious and UEFA finally gets involved in this matter, because it cannot allow the most important football in the world, European football, to be under the suspicion of corruption paid for over 20 years.

The Madrid chief tore into Barcelona during that appearance and added that he had won seven Champions League titles and seven league championships, claiming another seven league crowns had been stolen from him. Barcelona considers those statements an outrage and an attempt to destabilize the club and the team. The anger did not stay behind closed doors: weeks later, vice-president Rafael Yuste fired back, insisting that nobody stains the name of Barca or its badge and warning that the two sides would meet in court.

The Conciliation Claim Filed by FC Barcelona

In June, Barcelona officially announced it had filed the conciliation claim required before a criminal complaint for an alleged libel offense under article 205 of the Spanish Penal Code. The club pointed directly at Florentino Perez over remarks made on May 12 at a press conference and the next day in an interview. The stated goal was to force the Real Madrid president to retract certain statements Barcelona says were made knowingly false and that damage the club's image and reputation.

That announcement already made the strategy clear: if the claim was not properly addressed, FC Barcelona would proceed with a criminal complaint. Now, with November 25 locked in, that scenario is closer than ever.

An Institutional Battle That Goes Beyond the Pitch

The Real Madrid-Barcelona conflict is no longer limited to sport. Florentino Perez's comments came at a moment of peak institutional tension between the two clubs, with the Negreira affair looming in the background. During that same press conference, the Madrid president said the club was putting together a 500-page dossier to send to UEFA and confirmed he had already spoken with European football's governing body.

The legal route chosen by Barcelona opens another chapter in a dispute that has dragged on for months and now has a key date on the calendar: November 25. What happens inside that Madrid courtroom will decide whether the matter ends with a retraction or jumps to a full criminal complaint.