For a newspaper known to be a Real Madrid backer, it seems the latest events caused by publishing that Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas have made an ultimatum to club president, Florentino Perez, regarding the future employment of Jose Mourinho and their own future with the club, are not even close to helpful.
Marca published that during a meeting held on Tuesday, a day before Real Madrid’s 1-1 draw with Valencia in the Copa Del Rey, setting themselves with a double clasico clash in the semifinal, Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas met with Florentino Perez and demanded that Jose Mourinho not be the head coach of Real Madrid next season, or they will look to leave the club.
After the story got out, Perez was quick to deny everything, saying there was no ultimatum made. It is absolutely false that any kind of ultimatum was discussed regarding the coach or anything similar at the lunch we had with the captains last Tuesday. What has been said is not true, not in its content or in how much was said. I respect the press and I respect criticisms although they seem unfair. There are ethical limits that should be respected by those that aren’t a part of our project. It doesn’t seem ethical to resort to lies to destabilize the club.
Does Marca apologize. No. They print out a huge “We Do Not Lie” headline, and add the rest: Marca does not want to destabilize Real Madrid. Marca has always been very close to Real Madrid. What Marca does is tell what happens, because we owe that to our readers. It is not true that we said the players had made an ultimatum or an order. What we said was the players said they are more united than ever, are going for ‘la Decima’ and the Copa. But some of the coach’s behavior troubles them and if it continues some players will want to leave Real Madrid.
They went on to publish the text messages sent to them by the source, and pressing on the claim of the crisis between Jose Mourinho and the players.
While the Marca is usually known for defending Real Madrid, it has taken shots at managers when they feel it’s time for them to go. Not too long ago, the Marca awarded Jose Mourinho with the coach of the year award after the 2010-2011 season – A season in which Real Madrid won nothing except the Copa Del Rey, while Barcelona went on to win the Champions League and the La Liga.
Jose Mourinho is currently suing Marca editor-in-chief Roberto Palomar after an article published in September described the ‘Special One’ as the kind of person who would flee a hit and run. It’s not a big surprise that the attacks on the manager and attempts to destabilize his position as the manager of the club have just worsened, based on true facts or not.