Florentino Perez: Jose Mourinho did not damage Real Madrid

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has described the club as being ‘the Ferrari of football’ and insisted previous manager Jose Mourinho did not damage the club’s brand.

Following the departure of the Portuguese boss, many pundits and players – including some current Barcelona stars – have spoken in the press about Mourinho’s time in charge in the Spanish capital and how he damaged the club and La Liga in general.

But in an interview with 20minutos, Perez dismissed those criticisms, saying Mourinho simply demanded high standards from everyone.

“Mourinho has helped us to make a qualitative leap which is very important. I never tire of repeating, he has not sullied the image of Madrid,” he said.

And in a thinly veiled swipe on the Barcelona players who have criticised Mourinho and Real Madrid, he added: “I always give the example of F1, Ferrari does not always win, but they are the team that everybody knows. In football, that brand is Real Madrid.”

Perez also discussed the relationship between Mourinho and goalkeeper Iker Casillas, and denied there were any deep-lying problems.

“There came a time when Mourinho gave a warning to Casillas, but he does so with all players. Mourinho has not cheated anyone. He is what he is: very demanding and he justifies those demands. The club always put their faith in him and the one who best explained it has always been Iker,” he stated.