By Adegboyega Adeleye
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has said the club’s solidarity visit to Ceuta was planned weeks before the recent controversy involving Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr. and the territory’s support message.
Perez made the clarification on Friday during a visit to Ceuta city hall, where he was accompanied by honorary Real Madrid president Jose Martinez Pirri, a native of the Spanish territory.
“I want to emphasise, to avoid any doubts, that today’s event has been prepared over several weeks with the president of Ceuta, not due to any recent news,” Perez said.
The visit comes days after Mbappe, Vinicius and Ibrahima Konate obscured a solidarity message for the people of Ceuta before Real Madrid’s LaLiga match against Elche.
Players from both teams wore shirts carrying “Todos somos caballas”, meaning “We are all mackerels”, with caballas being a nickname for people from Ceuta.
Mbappe and Vinicius rolled their shirts up to chest height, obscuring the message, before removing them as they left the tunnel. Konate also held his shirt in a way that prevented the slogan from being clearly displayed.
Mbappe subsequently said he did not want to prioritise the suffering of one group over another.
Real Madrid had defended the players, telling Reuters that the club respected their freedom to decide whether or not to wear the shirts. The club also pointed to its own show of support for Ceuta a week earlier, when fans displayed a tifo during the Champions League match against Inter Milan.
Perez, however, used Friday’s visit to reiterate the club’s solidarity with the people of Ceuta.
“And I also take this opportunity to convey all our support, all our affection, and our solidarity during these very difficult times to all Ceutans. It is our wish that normality resumes as soon as possible in Ceuta,” he said.
The Real Madrid president was welcomed by Ceuta Regional President Juan Jesus Vivas during the visit.
The club’s latest show of support follows a major migration crisis in Ceuta in July, when more than 70,000 irregular crossings from Morocco into the Spanish territory were recorded.
Real Madrid’s solidarity gesture is one of several such actions across Spain following the mass crossings, which caused significant disruption in the territory.
The shirt controversy has since generated further reaction, with a Real Madrid supporters’ group demanding apologies from Mbappe, Vinicius and Konate over their decision to obscure the message.
Pérez’s clarification therefore separates Friday’s visit from the latest dispute, stressing that Real Madrid’s engagement with Ceuta had been arranged before the controversy surrounding the players.
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