Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has responded to the release of audio this morning of him slamming club legends Raul and Iker Casillas.

The sound bites were transcribed and published by El Confidencial, with the audio recording being made in 2006.

Perez stated this afternoon: "The sentences are spoken in conversations recorded by Mr. José Antonio Abellán, who has been trying to sell the conversations for many years without success. It is now surprising that, despite the time that has passed, the newspaper El Confidencial is now collecting the statements.

"They are just a few sentences from conversations with a broader context. These statements are only now being surfaced, so many years after these talks took place."

Perez thinks he knows why the statements from fifteen years ago are now suddenly being brought forward.

“It has to do with my role as one of the champions of the Super League. I have put the matter in the hands of my lawyers and they will investigate whether there are any follow-up steps."