Perez and Barcelona have been called to a conciliation hearing on November 25, ahead of possible criminal proceedings over alleged defamation.

Barcelona launched its legal action on June 12, demanding that Perez withdraw comments he made at a press conference in May. The club accused him of making statements that were knowingly false and damaging to its reputation.

The dispute centres on the Negreira case, which involves payments of up to 7 million euros made by Barcelona over almost two decades to companies linked to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, a former vice-president of Spain's refereeing committee.

Spanish courts are investigating whether the payments were intended to secure a competitive advantage. Barcelona has denied any wrongdoing, insisting the money was for referee analysis reports. A court dismissed bribery charges against the club in 2024.

Perez described the case as "the most serious case of corruption in football" and said: "We could never have imagined Barcelona giving money to the head of the referees."

The Real Madrid president also claimed his club had been denied league titles as a result of decisions made during that period.

"I've won seven leagues. I could have won twice as many. The others were stolen from me," Perez said.

Barcelona said it wanted Perez to retract the comments and warned that it would pursue a criminal complaint if the conciliation process failed.

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