The Madrid manager began his appearance, before giving way to questions from the media, by analysing the reason for his resignation.
-I am notgoing to resign. I have asked the board to initiate the process to call elections, and this board is going to present itself.
-Why I am calling an election. I have worked since 2000 for the club to be owned by the members. I have taken a decision because there has been an absurd campaign against Real Madrid and against me. We assume that we don't have the best results. But they take the opportunity to attack me personally. Where is Florentino, they say. Some people have said that I have a terminal cancer. But I take this opportunity to let the people who have been worried about me know that I am still president of Real Madrid and of another company that has a turnover of 50 billion euros a year. My health is perfect. If I had cancer, as has been said, I would have to go to an oncology centre, wouldn't I?
-ABC, a newspaper that loves me very much... (reads mobile phone). Before the board meeting I had to read this: "Florentino says 'I'm very tired'". But do you think that this was published before I came in? David Sánchez de Castro, are you here? To greet you, to see why you are publishing this. I get up early in the morning and go to bed last, I work like an animal.
-We have won 66 titles, 37 in football and 29 in basketball, including seven European Cups in football and three in basketball.
-I'm going to call elections and I invite all those who want to stand for election to do so. Some journalists think they will intimidate me, on the contrary, they give me more energy.
-Istood for Real Madrid so that its members could rule, some journalists think they say one thing and that people believe them, people believe me. Do you remember José María García? I started with him. Here at Real Madrid, the members are in charge as long as I am here. Whoever wants to stand (in the elections), let him stand. But don't go behind and say that I look tired, that it's because I work a lot. I have to go out and stop this, I can't admit that there are people in the media who have wanted to take over... and less than two years ago I won a league and a Champions League, and now Madrid is ruin and chaos... but how can it be chaos?
-The Negreira case has beengoing on forthree years. It is incomprehensible that referees from that time are still in LaLiga. We are going to present a dossier to UEFA to stop the Negreira case for the good of world football.
-Why do they want to kill me? It's an organised campaign. I spoke before about ABC. It belongs to Vocento, which created Relevo, which, in agreement with LaLiga, dedicated itself to making a digital newspaper that lost 25 million euros. And when LaLiga didn't pay, it went to Telefónica and then to Telecinco. His only aim was to mess with Florentino Pérez and the president of Real Madrid.
-I'm going to unsubscribe from ABC to honour my father, who, if he were to raise his head, wouldn't forgive me for remaining a subscriber. It has cost him 100 million euros (now he is up against Rubén Cañizares of ABC). I see that even if Relevo falls, ABC does not change. Why do you discredit Real Madrid every day?
-We are the admiration of the world and the rest of the clubs don't understand the Spanish press. I'm not going to leave and I 'm going to defend the members of Real Madrid, who are the owners.
I want toput an end to this anti-Madrid current. And I'm running to defend them, the members. Because nobody is going to take Real Madrid, the biggest club in the world.
-They didn't pay the players in 2000, ask Roberto Carlos. Bodo Illgner, the woman came to tell me. I had to put money from my estate to pay. The owners of Madrid are the members and if someone wants to come and stand for election, let them not pretend, let them stand. Let them guarantee as I did in the year 2000, one hundred and seventy-odd million.
-They talk about a cost overrun for the stadium, which started with 600 million and rose to 1,300 million. The first contract for the Bernabéu was the roof and it cost 600 million. After that, the hypogeum, which cost 400 million. And then the decoration and seats of the stadium, 300 million. And I understand something about that.
-I'm running because there are sectors that have wanted to take over the club. One is the journalistic sector, saying that Madrid is a chaos. Then, the ultras of Madrid, who are still gathering. We kicked them out and they won't enter Real Madrid anymore. We have kicked out 1,600 Madrid members for reselling tickets. LaLiga is our enemy, I fight against everyone.
-That we have to listen to the president of the Technical Arbitration Committee about the Negreira case saying that it is something to forget? But how can we forget about it? I have already spoken to UEFA and we will give them a 500-page dossier on the biggest corruption case in the history of football. I fought first with the Superliga, and winning in the ECJ we have gone to UEFA to really negotiate. It's good what we have achieved in the ECJ, like free football, that children in Africa can watch football for free. And everything we are achieving is for the good of football, and UEFA has realised this so that football can be even more global.
-Nobody should expect me to sit on my hands. It has cost me a lot to clean up Madrid financially and not financially.
QUESTION TIME
-Change of coach: I'm not going to talk about that, I'm here to talk about giving Madrid's patrimony back to the members. These journalists who don't know what they're talking about are taking it away from them. I'm going to stand for election because I want Madrid to continue to belong to its members.
-On sporting matters... I 'm not going to talk about sporting matters. Some people want to destroy Real Madrid. I was confronted at the time by a journalist whose name I don't want to repeat.
-Mourinho: We are not in that procedural moment, but we are trying to ensure that Madrid belongs to its members, which some of your colleagues (journalists) and others want to take away from us. I have been elected the best president in the history of the club. I am going to defend not for myself but for the institution. Today we are not talking about football or players.
-Concerned partners about the team's season: We will make an analysis. We have to fight against many. Tell Juanma Castaño, from the Cope, to have a little consideration for the best club in history. He should talk to him and look after Madrid.
It's not only Madrid that suffers, but other teams as well. And they tell me about it. The only one who always benefits is Barcelona. UEFA is going to take action because they can't allow corruption that has been paid for 20 years. Let's see what happens through the criminal courts and then through UEFA. I didn't come here to see referees get rich with Madrid's money.
-Sports analysis: When we win the elections soon, I will do it. This intervention is to complain about what is happening with the press and Real Madrid.
-Elections: I call it so that there are candidates. I want the one with the electric one with a Mexican accent to stand. I want transparency, I don't want them to talk to you saying that we are very bad and that this is a dictatorship. I want all those who want to run to stand.
-Players have been beaten almost every season. What is happening here is that someone has told it for the first time. We also know who said it, that's what we're here for.
-I haven't given a press conference since 2015: I'm not the protagonist of sporting matters and I don't usually speak, nor do I do it in my company, sometimes at the General Meeting. The club is the most important thing, why do I have to talk? Because we are second in LaLiga or because we lose a game? The protagonists are the players. It's not even two years since we won the Champions League and LaLiga. And that there is now this campaign and they want to forget that?
-Election date and reasons: An orchestration of bad journalists against Real Madrid. We will call the elections in a few days, 15 days. And I want them to stand.
-Fight: I think it's very bad and I think it's worse that they have brought it to light. I can assure you that there hasn't been a year in which two or four players haven't fought. I'm sure it's told by those who think they're going to get out. It's like when young people fight and they're friends too. For me the leak is worse because it implies that there is something else going on. In 26 years of my history at the club, it's the first time I've seen it.
-Dossier on the Negreira case: We have been doing it for two years with objective facts. With the Negreira case we found out very recently, that Barcelona handed out money to the head of the referees for two decades. And since then we have been preparing a dossier and we are going to go all the way because it is the most corrupt case in the history of football. And not because it is Barcelona. It is inconceivable, there is no other club in the world that has done it.
I've had the chaos at Madrid for 26 years. They (the players) get beaten up not every year but every day. But that stops there. And if there is someone inside the club who takes it out, it's worse than the brawl between them, who are two great kids, very good. I have tolerated it for 26 years and nothing has happened.
-Stronger than ever: I haven't been to the doctor. Let an oncologist who has treated me tell me. I've had friends of mine call me and tell me I was in the terminal phase. I am not going to stop because it is the most undignified thing in my life to resort to these illnesses. My friends even believe it, they told me about a place in China.... I'll be damned... (laughs).
-Dolido: We've been blanked this season and we've won seven Champions League titles and seven Leagues. And it could be 14 Leagues because they've stolen them from me. And it's still the same referees. They have taken 18 points from us this season. I have put my illusion and my patrimony so that the players would get paid. Let them tell that to Hierro, Illgner, Roberto Carlos... I backed that with my assets. Not even the guy in the rubbish bin on the corner would get paid. I don't want to be kissed every day.
-Most angry moment: I've been watching this collusion between the media, the Segurola boys, Relaño. We call them 'the intellectuals of the regime'. Why do they want to hurt us? José María García couldn't do it to me. They're not going to kick me out, it would be the partners, who are the owners. But if I'm doing well, why do I have to put up with the fact that Madrid is a chaos?
-What worries the club's members the most: If five journalists from five places say that it's a chaos... I'm going to defend their rights as I did in the year 2000, to watch over the ownership of Real Madrid, that the same people and their children continue. I don't want money from Madrid or the limelight. I lead a discreet life.
The members of Real Madrid don't have to whistle or criticise their players. It's like their children, if they do something wrong, you have to support them. If the journalists get together with the bad guys of Real Madrid... and oh my God! We are with the cops controlling the Ultra Sur. The members have to support the players.
-How do you explain that people whistle for Madrid: I do what's best for Madrid, I've done my best for Madrid. And when one of you speaks against Madrid because we don't listen to you... then we will never listen to you. That's not journalism, that's false journalism.
-Enemies: I take care of the internal enemies. The external ones, I have to denounce them. Look, for example, with the players, if a journalist didn't give him a mobile phone, he would kill him. José María García did a lot of damage and others replaced him. Do you think it is normal that, having won the Champions League two years ago, they want to kill the president? They will have to shoot me because I have the support of all the members of Real Madrid. And that's why I want there to be elections. And I'm going to stand. I don't want them to mess with anyone, but why don't they do it with Atlético de Madrid.
Florentino is not going to leave until the members want me to leave. And I'm going to summon the members to see what's going on.