Carlo Ancelotti said he doesn’t know if Florentino Pérez plans to boycott El Clásico after a Barcelona director insulted Vinícius Júnior on social media, saying the decision taken by the Real Madrid president “will be for the good of the club.”
Sources have told ESPN that Pérez’s attendance at Saturday’s LaLiga game at Barcelona’s Olympic Stadium (10 a.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+) has been practically ruled out — barring a late bid from Barça to defuse the situation — due to unhappiness over Miquel Camps’ comments on X, formerly known as Twitter, during Madrid’s Champions League game at Braga.
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“It’s not racism, [Vinícius] deserves a slap for being a clown and a joker, what do those unnecessary and pointless stepovers in the middle of the pitch mean?” Barça board member Camps wrote on Tuesday, before deleting the post.
“I don’t know what the president has decided,” Ancelotti said in his prematch news conference Friday.
“What I know is the president’s decisions are for the good of the club, for the good of Real Madrid, every decision he’s taken and will take will be for the good of the club.”
On Wednesday, Barça vice president Rafa Yuste apologised for Camps’ comments.
“If Vinícius is listening to me, I want to say that this will not be repeated,” he told Movistar. “Even if it was a mistake, it should not have been posted. It was an inappropriate [post].”
“If [Camps] deleted it, there is no need for me to say anything,” Barça coach Xavi Hernandez added. “I don’t like anything that generates tension. … We need a Clásico with fair play and with mutual admiration.”
Pérez and Barcelona president Joan Laporta have a good relationship but there has been growing friction between the clubs over a number of issues, including the investigation into Barca’s payments made over a 17-year period to companies connected to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, the former vice president of Spain’s refereeing body.
With 10 games played, just a point separates Madrid and Barcelona at the top of the LaLiga table, with Madrid top on 25 points, and Barca third on 24.
“A Clásico is like a derby, there’s no favourite,” Ancelotti said. “A team might be in better form than the other. We’re playing well and they’re playing well. It will be a spectacular, competitive game. Let’s hope the fans can enjoy it.”
Xavi said Friday that he had been “surprised” by the participation of injury doubts Robert Lewandowski, Frenkie de Jong, Pedri and Jules Koundé in training ahead of the game.
“For us, what’s important is that [Jude] Bellingham plays!” Ancelotti responded, after the England midfielder was substituted with some discomfort in midweek. “He’ll play tomorrow because he’s fine. He’s recovered … I don’t have to explain to him what a Clásico is. Everybody knows.”