Real Madrid demand LaLiga boss Javier Tebas resign after comparing club to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels

The Spanish giants labeled the league president a "scourge for Spanish football" and demanded he step down from both his LaLiga post and his role as vice president of the national federation

Oct 16, 2026 at 12:59 pm ET • 3 min read

There are some things in life that seem essential. In soccer, one of them is the bad relationship between Real Madrid and LaLiga, especially in recent years under the league's leadership by Javier Tebas. On Friday, the Spanish club issued a strong statement against the LaLiga president after he compared, on his social media channels, the communication strategy of Real Madrid and their in-house TV channel (Real Madrid TV) to that used by Joseph Goebbels, who was the minister for propaganda in Nazi Germany during the Second World War. 

Tebas wrote on X, "Real Madrid's management directs an orchestra of mouthpieces and Real Madrid TV leads the singing. Their score is always the same: select the plays that suit them, repeat the grievance, feed the suspicion, and point fingers at the enemies. That method recalls propaganda mechanisms exploited by Goebbels, Nazi Germany's minister of propaganda: systematic repetition, construction of an enemy, and subordination of facts to the narrative."

Real Madrid asked for the immediate resignation of Tebas.

"Javier Tebas' repeated conduct demonstrates a lack of neutrality, respect, and impartiality incompatible with his institutional responsibilities. His constant attacks on Real Madrid and those who demand transparency and reform constitute, in our club's opinion, a true scourge for Spanish football," adding he should step down from his roles as the head of LaLiga, the Spanish first division, and vice-president of the Spanish FA. 

In another statement on his social media, Tebas added, "Real Madrid are seeking to destroy the domestic competition. What they have so far failed to achieve with the Super League, they are now trying to accomplish through a distorted narrative pushed by their media outlets and their mouthpieces. They call it renewal while attacking the reputation of the very competition in which they participate. (...) There is a name for all of this: intimidation." 

Where does the tension come from? 

The tension between LaLiga president Tebas and Real Madrid stems from years of disagreements over various issues, including the proposal to stage LaLiga matches abroad and, most notably, the 2021 Super League project spearheaded by Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus, alongside several other European clubs. The breakaway league was supposed to create a different model of the sport, with a parallel European competition that was supposed to reshape the landscape of European soccer. In the end, the Super League lasted only a few hours before most of the clubs withdrew following backlash from fans and players, as well as widespread media criticism. Florentino Perez, Real Madrid president, was the main face behind the project, and his position created a conflict with Tebas, who immediately opposed the idea. 

After the Super League project was abandoned, in December 2021 LaLiga announced the "Boost LaLiga" project, which saw LaLiga and its clubs receive almost €2 billion ($2.17bn) from the private equity firm CVC in exchange for an 8.2% share of the league's income from broadcasting and sponsorship rights for the next 50 years. Real Madrid strongly opposed the project and rejected being part of it, alongside Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. On top of that, the Negreira case became a huge topic in Spain and at Real Madrid in particular: Spanish prosecutors have filed corruption charges against Barcelona and former club presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu for allegedly making payments to a company owned by Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, an ex-vice president of the referee committee in Spain who worked under the Spanish football association between 1993 and 2018.

Speaking to Prime Video in Italy, Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho said before the AS Roma match won 4-3 by the Blancos, "Congratulations to the Italians, because Italy is the only country where Calciopoli was treated as Calciopoli. So far, nothing has happened in Spain. If nothing happens, it will be the biggest refereeing corruption scandal in the world. There's nothing else to say."

Since Mourinho made his way back to Madrid, these topics have become even more dominant in the press conferences and in the media as well. In the last week, Mourinho said, "things are happening without shame" in Spain after the Brazilian striker was banned for four LaLiga games for the red card he received in Real Madrid's last home game, against Villarreal at the Bernabeu, when he pulled Nathan Saliba's hair before scoring the second goal of the game, which was ultimately disallowed.