Florentino Perez to Visit Ceuta After Real Madrid Shirt Gesture Row

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez will visit Ceuta on Friday as the club seeks to ease tensions created by a pre-match gesture involving Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Ibrahima Konate during Tuesday’s 3-2 La Liga win at Elche.

Ceuta visit planned after Elche controversy

Perez is due to travel with institutional director Emilio Butragueno and honorary president Jose Martinez Pirri, a former Madrid player who was born in Ceuta. The delegation is intended to underline the club’s support for the Spanish territory and rebuild relations with its local community.

The issue arose at the Martinez Valero before Madrid’s victory over Elche. Clubs had been asked to take part in a league-wide solidarity initiative by wearing shirts carrying the message “Todos somos caballas”, meaning “We are all Ceutans”.

Mbappe, Vinicius and Konate rolled the shirts up during the warm-up so that the wording was not visible, before taking the garments off. The images prompted criticism across Spanish media and online, with anger particularly strong in Ceuta.

Humanitarian campaign behind the message

The initiative had been arranged by a local business group to focus international attention on Ceuta’s humanitarian emergency. The city has faced a significant arrival of migrants crossing from Morocco since July.

• The shirts were part of a coordinated league initiative before the Elche match.
• Critics viewed the players’ decision to conceal the slogan as disrespectful towards Ceuta and the campaign.
• Madrid had initially supported the charitable action, while later defending the players’ right to express their own views.
• The club’s board has been concerned that the episode could be read as a lack of interest in the plight of a Spanish territory.

Perez’s trip is therefore designed as an institutional response rather than a sporting one, with Pirri’s presence carrying particular significance given his connection to the city.

Mbappe explains his position

Mbappe addressed the matter on Wednesday, saying there had been no intention to insult Ceuta or its people. He said the decision to wear the shirts came from the clubs and stressed that he stood with Ceuta and those affected by the crisis.

The France forward, whose parents moved to France from Algeria and Cameroon, said he had also wanted to recognise migrants who had died or were living in severe conditions. He described the situation as difficult because any attempt to express concern for migrants could be interpreted as opposition to the people of Ceuta.

Mbappe insisted that was not his view, saying he had nothing against Ceuta and that he wanted to show compassion for everyone suffering. He called for a peaceful resolution, arguing that no group’s pain should be treated as more important than another’s.

Madrid look to contain fallout

Madrid’s 3-2 result at Elche has been overshadowed by the dispute, with the club now attempting to prevent the matter from causing longer-term damage to its standing in Ceuta. Friday’s visit by Perez, Butragueno and Pirri will be the next step in that effort.