Real Madrid President Florentino Pérez "offered his backing to under-pressure" coach Rafa Benítez, while also saying reports that he has considered selling Cristiano Ronaldo are "lies," according to Dermot Corrigan of ESPN. Saturday's 4-0 Clásico defeat to Barcelona saw chants of "Florentino resign." Amid speculation that players "are unhappy" with Benítez's management, there were reports that the club's B-team Coach Zinedine Zidane "was being lined up to take over." However, Pérez said "in a specially called news conference after a board meeting" that the club would stand by Benítez, who was hired in June. Asked about media reports "suggesting all was not so happy in the Madrid camp," Pérez gave a "lengthy, sometimes angry response to what he said were untrue stories about him in the local media." He said, "It is not habitual for us to be permanently denying things. But I understand that there are some journalists who want to destabilize us ... There are people who lie to damage Real Madrid. They think that, without me, they would have more influence in the club. I could say many more things" (ESPN, 11/23).
NEXT CONFLICT: In Madrid, Marco Ruiz reported on Wednesday, in Madrid’s Court of General Jurisdiction No. 51, Judge Almudena Maricalva Arranz will hear the case filed by a group of Real Madrid club members concerning the "legality of the changes to the statutes" approved by the club's General Assembly on Sept. 30, 2012. The lawsuit "solely concerns" the conditions required to become a candidate in club presidential elections. The fundamental changes in the club statutes included an increase from 10 to 20 years uninterrupted as a fully signed-up club member and "stricter, exorbitant conditions with regard to the commitment of guarantee deposit," reset at 15% of the total annual budget, which now must be drawn from personal assets -- not via third party funds -- and "be certified by a Spanish financial institution" -- not a foreign bank. As a result of these changes, only Pérez was "eligible to run" for the '13 elections. Other candidates, such as Vicente Boluda, Eugenio Martínez Bravo and Borja Martínez-Laredo, had publicly stated "their intentions to present themselves but none of them were able to under the new prerequisites." If the judge rules in favor of the claimants, "Real Madrid must return to the old statutes and call new elections" (AS, 11/23).
