Barcelona have launched legal proceedings against Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez, filing a mandatory conciliation claim — the required step before a formal criminal complaint — citing slander under Article 205 of the Spanish Penal Code.

The Catalan club announced the move on Friday via their official social media channels, stating that the action follows remarks Pérez made during a press conference on 12 May and in a media interview the following day.

What Pérez said

Pérez made waves last month when he directed sharp criticism at Barcelona's leadership, calling into question the legitimacy of their La Liga title and raising the so-called Negreira Case — a long-running sports corruption scandal — once again.

"I've won 7 Champions Leagues and 7 La Liga titles… I should have won 14 La Ligas but we were robbed," Pérez said. "This season, they robbed us of 18 points in La Liga, we did a video on RMTV showing all the incidents."

The Real Madrid president also warned that his club intended to submit a dossier to UEFA over the matter, adding: "The Negreira case, a sports corruption scandal, is still causing repercussions. There are referees from that era who are still officiating."

Barcelona's response

In their official statement, Barcelona made clear that the legal action is aimed at compelling Pérez to retract specific comments the club considers both false and damaging to their reputation.

"The purpose of this claim is for Mr. Pérez to retract certain statements that he made with knowledge of their falsity and which are slanderous and offensive to the image and reputation of the Club."

The club added a firm warning: should the conciliation process fail to produce a satisfactory outcome, FC Barcelona will proceed with a full criminal complaint against the Real Madrid president.

The dispute marks a significant escalation of tensions between the two clubs ahead of what remains one of world football's most fiercely contested rivalries.