'Cristiano Ronaldo is an idiot' says Real Madrid president in new leaked audio

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has been embroiled in a growing controversy involving leaked audio clips that allegedly have him saying disparaging comments about numerous club legends and former managers. The most recently-released audio clips involve some scathing words about Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho.

On Wednesday, a follow-up report to an earlier leaked audio clip was published by El Confidencial. The quotes now come from two old conversations, with the most recent one having been recorded back in 2012. The initial recordings targeted club legends Iker Casillas and Raul Gonzalez. This time, the quotes are targeting the Portuguese duo.

"[Ronaldo] is crazy. The guy is an idiot, he's sick," said a man who is allegedly Perez. "You think this guy is normal, but he's not. If he was, he wouldn't do all the things he does. The last stupid thing, which everyone in the world saw... why do you think he'd do something so stupid?"

It is unclear what Ronaldo had done at that time to merit being called "stupid in the secretly-recorded conversation. Apart from the former Real Madrid player, former head coach Jose Mourinho did not escape the harsh criticism.

"[Jorge] Mendes has no control over [Ronaldo] and it's the same with Mourinho - none at all. Even for interviews, they don't listen to him. These are two guys with terrible egos, spoilt the pair of them, who don't see the reality because they could both earn a lot more money if things were different," said Perez. He then went on to call the pair "abnormal."

"They are both abnormal because we are talking about a lot of money in terms of image rights. And with that face they have, that challenging glare, the fact that no one likes them... if the publicity was different, everything changes."

Another Portuguese former member of the squad, Fabio Coentrao was also mentioned.

"He's nuts, that's one of the effects of Real Madrid. He's another mindless one and Madrid eats guys like that. Right now, he's scared and Mourinho is an idiot. It's not that he doesn't want to play... Well, he's a little stupid, driving without a licence," Perez said about Coentrao.

Furthermore, Perez had some accusations about Mendes and his financial dealings. He spoke about an account in Switzerland, claiming that more information needs to be revealed about the said account and the money that went there from the transfers of various players.

According to a statement released by Real Madrid, Perez is taking legal action against El Confidencial and journalist Jose Antonio Abellan, who allegedly made the secret recordings.