Castaño refuses to back down after Real Madrid publishes video attacking his commentary

Juanma Castaño rejected Real Madrid’s social-media attack point by point on El Partidazo de COPE, insisting he would not soften his commentary after the club published a video targeting his decade of work on the programme. The broadcaster accused club president Florentino Pérez of personally turning him into an enemy, according to Marca.

The video was the latest escalation in a dispute that had already produced a formal club communiqué and a response from Real Madrid TV. Castaño told listeners he had received multiple videos and statements attacking him but would continue saying what he believed from an honest position, acknowledging the pressure came with the job.

The row originated with a column Castaño wrote for ABC in which he compared Real Madrid’s television channel to Gara, a publication historically linked to ETA. The club branded the comparison deplorable and inadmissible. Castaño subsequently apologised for the specific comparison while maintaining his broader criticism of the channel’s editorial line — a distinction the club did not accept, prompting the communiqué and RMTV response before the video raised the temperature further.

In his on-air rebuttal, Castaño drew a deliberate line between Pérez and Real Madrid as an institution, arguing that his quarrel was with the president rather than the club. He went further by calling Pérez the best president in the club’s history given his achievements, even as he refused to change his approach. Castaño also suggested the club’s real concern should be Barcelona sitting six points clear and playing well, arguing he had no bearing on that gap.

The dispute underlines the increasingly fractious relationship between Real Madrid and sections of the Spanish sports media, with the club having used its own television channel and official communications to push back against coverage it considers hostile.