MADRID CHANGED THE LOGISTICS PRIOR TO THE CLASSIC
The 'cold war' between Barça and Madrid continues: The lunch of directives before Clásico, canceled
Published:25/10/2024 - 18:12h
Updated:25/10/2024 - 18:26h
The directors of FC Barcelona and Real Madrid will not hold the traditional lunch prior to each LaLiga Clásico. Florentino Pérez and Joan Laporta maintain distances and would only meet in the Bernabéu box
FC Barcelona and Real Madrid will play this Saturday in a new edition of the Spanish Classic at the Santiago Bernabéu, with the relationship between the directors of both institutions noticeably worn out. A symptom of the distance between the clubs has to do with the cancellation of the lunch prior to the duel corresponding to matchday 11 of LaLiga EA Sports 2024/25.
And, by decision of the 'White House', the traditional meal before the Classic will not take place at the Zalacaín restaurant, where this friendly meeting between managers is usually held. On the contrary, Madrid is planning a snack-dinner in the Bernabéu box, where Joan Laporta and Florentino Pérez will have an exchange of words.
The decision of the 'merengue' team, yes, is not exceptional this season. The club has preferred these afternoon meetings to replace the traditional lunches between directors due to an agenda item, although, in the Champions League, food prior to each match is mandatory due to UEFA regulations.
Laporta and Florentino, increasingly distanced
Both leaders met for the last time on April 21, prior to the Clásico that the 'merengues' won on the hour in Chamartín (3-2). That day there was lunch, although the tension was evident between the representatives of the two clubs after the scuffle that generated Florentino's decision to take a stand against Barça over the 'Negreira case'.
In fact, the 'cold war' between Barça and Madrid was evident during the final of the last edition of the Spanish Super Cup. Laporta sat very distant from Pérez and the authorities of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) in the box of the King Saud University Stadium.
During the Clásicos played in 2023, Florentino even refused to go to the Camp Nou box for the League and Cup Clásicos played before starting the remodeling of the Estadi. The president of Madrid also did not attend Montjuïc in the duel played in October 2023, while, in the friendlies played in the summer on American soil, there was no meeting between directors either.
