‘We Have to Talk About This’—La Liga Chief Hits Back at Real Madrid

Real Madrid’s registration of Franco Mastantuono was spotlighted by Javier Tebas.

Javier Tebas has been engaged in a long-running war of words with Real Madrid. | Oscar J. Barroso/AFP7 via Getty Images

La Liga president Javier Tebas has defended the league’s proposed plans to stage Barcelona’s domestic fixture with Villarreal in Miami by going on a rant about the questionable integrity shown by Real Madrid over the years.

The capital outfit have made little secret of their disdain for the prospect of hosting La Liga matches outside Spain. In response to the official approval of such an event—which remains hypothetical for now—the club released a statement claiming that this decision “violates the essential principle of territorial reciprocity” that governs La Liga.

By playing Villarreal in the neutral setting of Miami rather than travelling to the Estadio de la Cerámica Barcelona would receive an “undue sporting advantage,” according to Real Madrid.

Tebas, in his typically forthright style, was having none of it. “The match in Miami doesn’t manipulate anything. We’re talking about an issue of ‘integrity,’” the league boss told RNE.

Franco Mastantuono was unveiled at Real Madrid on Aug. 14. | JAVIER SORIANO/AFP via Getty Images

The official’s argument soon boiled down to a case of citing the occasions when Real Madrid have bent the rules to their favor without breaking them. Most recently, Franco Mastantuono was surprisingly handed the No. 30 shirt to signal his official status as a reserve-team player even though the €45 million ($52.7 million) summer recruit is expected to be a fixture of Xabi Alonso’s senior setup.

“Top-flight teams have 25 players, and Real Madrid have given [shirt number] 30, with a reserve team registration, to a player who won’t play a single minute with the reserve team,” Tebas noted. “Vinicius was registered with the reserve team and did play with the reserve team. So if we get an attack of integrity, we have to talk about all this, too.”

The La Liga chief was quick to clarify that Real Madrid were within their rights to make this decision—“I think they can do it,” he shrugged—but pointed out that this isn’t the first loophole the club have exploited.

“During COVID, the only team allowed to change stadiums to move forward with construction was Real Madrid,” Tebas mused. “Did that affect the competition? No. I don’t understand all the fuss.”

Tebas and Madrid president Florentino Pérez have been engaged in a spiky public back-and-forth for years. Just earlier this summer, La Liga refused to grant Real Madrid an extended period of recovery before the 2025–26 campaign despite advancing to the semifinals of this summer’s Club World Cup.

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