Mr Pérez why are you unwell in Spanish

Real Madrid President Florentino Perez called Cristiano Ronaldo an "idiot" in a 2012 conversation that has been leaked by Spanish daily El Confidencial.

Ronaldo spent nine seasons at Madrid between 2009 and 2018, during which time he scored 450 goals and guided the club to four Champions League titles. 

"He's crazy. This guy is an idiot, a sick man," Perez could be heard saying about Ronaldo in the leaked audio. "You think this guy is normal, but he's not normal, otherwise, he wouldn't do all the things he does.

"The last nonsense he did, the whole world saw it. Why do you think he does that stupid thing?"

Perez also went on to criticize Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes, Madrid manager at the time Jose Mourinho, and full-back Fabio Coentrao.

All three, as well as Ronaldo, are Portuguese.

"Mendes doesn't control [Cristiano], just like he doesn't control Mourinho. Zero weight. These are guys with a terrible ego, both spoiled, and they don't see reality," said Perez.

He added: "Right now Coentrao is s--- and Mourinho is an idiot."

Perez's comments on Ronaldo have come to light just days after further leaked audio heard him attacking Madrid legends Raul and Iker Casillas.

In tapes released again by El Confidencial, Perez accused striker Raul of "destroying" Real Madrid through his negativity, while he called goalkeeper Casillas a "failure."

Raul is Madrid's second all-time top scorer behind only Ronaldo and its most capped ever player, while Casillas is widely regarded as the club's greatest ever goalie. 

"Casillas is not a Real Madrid standard goalkeeper, what can I say? He's not and never has been," Perez said.

"He has been a big failure of ours. The problem is people adore him, love him, talk to him, they defend him so much."

Perez added: "[Casillas] is one of the big frauds of Madrid. The second is Raul. The two biggest frauds at Madrid are first Raul and then Casillas.

"Raul is a bad person. He thinks Madrid is his and he uses everything there is in Madrid, developing everything for his own benefit. Him and his agent. They are to blame for Madrid not doing well."

In a statement on Real Madrid's website, Perez has responded to the leaked recordings, saying the matter is now in the hands of his lawyers. 

"The published quotes were part of conversations secretly recorded by Mr. José Antonio Abellan, who has been trying to sell the recordings for many years without any success," he said. 

"I find it surprising that they have been published today by El Confidencial, despite the time that has elapsed.

"They are isolated quotes that were part of conversations and have been taken out of the wider context in which they were made."

By Devin Watkins

In the latest of his expressions of closeness to those suffering illness, Pope Francis sent a short note on Sunday to an Argentine peace activist as he recovers in hospital.

Adolfo Perez Esquivel suffered an undiagnosed health scare at the start of the new year, and was admitted to hospital in the seaside resort of Mar del Plata, Argentina.

Upon receiving news of his convalescence, the Pope sent a note to Mr. Perez Esquivel through Bishop Gabriel Mestre of Mar del Plata, a city which lies some 400 km to the south of Buenos Aires.

Prayers for a speedy recovery

Pope Francis assured the 90-year-old activist of his “closeness and prayers for [his] speedy recovery.”

The Pope also sent his greetings to Mr. Perez Esquivel’s wife, Amanda Guerreño.

“May Jesus bless you and the Holy Virgin watch over you,” concluded the Pope.

Bishop Mestre visited Mr. Perez Esquivel in hospital on New Year’s Day, where he remains in stable condition.

They prayed together and the Bishop administered the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, according to a statement on the diocesan website.

The statement encouraged Catholics to pray for the quick recovery of “this Argentinian committed to peace, the common good, and human rights.”

Denouncing oppression of the poor

Mr. Perez Esquivel, an artist and writer, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1980 for his pacifist activism against the military dictatorship which ruled Argentina from 1976 until 1983.

He received the Prize while on probation following a 14-month-stint in prison at the hands of the military junta whose oppressive tactics he had spoken out against.

Mr. Perez Esquivel accepted the Peace Prize in name of “the people of Latin America,” and denounced a social system that favored only a few.

“Institutionalized violence, misery, and oppression enshrine a social order that benefits very few: the rich get richer at the expense of the poor getting poorer,” he said in his acceptance speech.

Only two days later, Mr. Perez Esquivel survived an assassination attempt. He went on to further the cause of human rights through art and his newspaper “Peace and Justice”.

A native of Buenos Aires, Mr. Perez Esquivel was received in a private audience with Pope Francis just a few days after the papal election in March 2013.