Florentino Pérez to visit Ceuta on Friday amid shirt message controversy

Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez will lead an institutional visit to Ceuta on Friday to express the club's support for the autonomous city. The trip comes just days after the controversy that followed the LaLiga match against Elche, when several players did not show the message of support for Ceuta that appeared on the commemorative shirts.

• Florentino Pérez will travel to Ceuta on Friday accompanied by Emilio Butragueño and José Martínez 'Pirri'.
• The delegation will be received by city president Juan Jesús Vivas from 11:30 am.
• The visit aims to ease tensions after the gestures made by Mbappé, Vinicius and Konaté before Real Madrid-Elche.
• Pirri, the club's honorary president, was born in Ceuta and began his career there in the 1960s.

What happened with the Ceuta support shirts before Real Madrid-Elche

Before the match played on Tuesday, all Real Madrid and Elche players took to the pitch wearing a commemorative shirt that included a message of support for Ceuta. However, footage showed that Kylian Mbappé, Vinicius Junior and Konaté did not display that message in the same way as the rest of their teammates, which sparked an intense debate in the following hours.

The controversy grew quickly on social media and in sports shows. Apart from Mbappé, neither of the other two players involved has made public statements to explain what happened, a silence that has fueled further speculation about the reasons behind the gesture.

Who will join Florentino Pérez on his trip to Ceuta

Two well-known figures from the club will travel with the Real Madrid president. Emilio Butragueño, the club's director of institutional relations, will be part of the delegation. José Martínez 'Pirri', honorary president of the club and a person with deep ties to Ceuta, will also attend.

Pirri was born in the autonomous city and took his first steps as a footballer there in the early 1960s. Before signing for Granada and later for Real Madrid, where he spent most of his professional career, the Ceuta native left his mark on local football. His final playing experience came at Puebla in Mexico.

Official reception at city hall with Juan Jesús Vivas

The agenda for the visit includes an institutional reception at Ceuta city hall. City president Juan Jesús Vivas will welcome the Real Madrid delegation from 11:30 am. The meeting will serve to demonstrate the club's backing for the city and its institutions.

Real Madrid looks to calm tensions after players' gestures

With this trip, the club is trying to steer a situation that has caused unease back on course. The presence of Florentino Pérez, Butragueño and Pirri in Ceuta is seen as a move to soften the controversy and show that the club remains firmly committed to the autonomous city.

The presidential visit also comes at a time when the team is still competing in LaLiga, a season in which every gesture off the pitch is closely scrutinized. Friday's visit is intended to close the episode with a clear and direct institutional message.