Real Madrid presidential candidate Enrique Riquelme says he would like to see Barcelona in the Segunda Division and would have no problem with the Catalan club disappearing altogether.
Riquelme will stand against Florentino Perez in Sunday’s elections and has been omnipresent on radio and TV in Spain this week as he builds his case for taking over the top job at the Santiago Bernabeu.
He has already announced he would install the club’s former striker Raul as sporting director and claims to have a raft of big-name players lined up should he be victorious.
Speaking to Jordi Wild on the Wild Project, he also took aim at Madrid’s arch rivals from Camp Nou.
He said: “I want to see Barcelona in the Segunda [Division]. I would love to. I wouldn’t have any problem with that and I would be happy. And it’s not a lack of respect.
“I would also like Barcelona to disappear. I wouldn’t have any problem.
“Barcelona are part of the history of football but I want Real Madrid to win, and only Madrid. What others do…”
I would not have helped Barcelona, insists Real Madrid hopeful
When Barcelona were going through their well-publicised financial problems at the start of the decade, the club brokered a deal with Key Capital that saw them sell a share of their future TV income to Sixth Street.
Key Capital have close links to Perez and one of the company’s partners Anas Laghrari is his right-hand man and reportedly a hugely influential figure behind the scenes at the capital club.
Riquelme says he does not understand why anyone from Madrid would help Barcelona and also made a reference to the ongoing Negreira case in which Barca made payments to Jose Maria Negreira, the former vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees.
Barca deny any wrongdoing and insist they hired Negreira as an external consultant to provide technical reports on refereeing.
Riquelme added: “I can assure you that not only would I not have helped, but that I would not have reached out.
“It is a healthy competition, but if you have competed in a way in which you have used the money to pay the vice president of the referees…”
