Between the helipad and the port of Ceuta there are barely two kilometers. Between the arrival of Florentino Pérez to the autonomous city by helicopter and the transfer of thousands of immigrants to the camp set up at the Muelle de Poniente, barely three hours have passed. While the State Security Forces and Corps were busy this morning carrying out a safe and orderly transfer to this new temporary solution for the thousands of immigrants who remain in Ceuta, the president of the autonomous city, Juan Jesús Vivas, was receiving the white leader, the honorary president, José Martínez Sánchez ‘Pirri’, and the head of Institutional Relations, Emilio Butragueño, at the foot of the stairs.
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The delegation landed around 11:30, the time their arrival at the City Hall was scheduled, located just over a kilometer from the helipad, although they finally arrived 25 minutes late. The city council workers were amazed: “There is more excitement than with the arrival of a minister,” while the fans, stationed at the door of the building located in Plaza de Nuestra Señora de África, asked each other: “When will Florentino return to Ceuta?”.
Once there, the three members of the white club signed the Ceuta Assembly’s honor book, after being surrounded by a group of fans who accompanied them inside the building. The white leader wrote: “All my support to Ceuta and the people of Ceuta and my best wishes for the city to recover normality as soon as possible,” while the honorary president referred to his status as a “caballa” and recalled that the city will always “be in his heart”.
A symbolic gesture
Later, the official reception was held in the city’s hall of honors. Several of the main football officials in Ceuta were invited, such as the president of AD Ceuta, Luhay Hamido; the president of the Ceuta Football Federation, Antonio García Gaona, and the president of the city’s Peña Madridista, Miguel Ángel Montano. During the event, Vivas thanked the gesture of the white club and emphasized the institutional nature of the visit: “Today Real Madrid is here to say that it is with Ceuta and with the people of Ceuta. The cause is no longer exclusive to the city, but belongs to all Spaniards.” The president of the autonomous city insisted: “Ceuta is not for sale nor does it surrender, it is defended.” And he recalled Pirri’s connection with the city: “He has never lost his roots. In these difficult times, one of the first calls I received was from Pirri.”
“This act of support today for the honorary president and the city was not prepared because of any recent news, but had been planned for several weeks,” assured Florentino Pérez after Vivas’s brief speech.
The visit came days after the controversy involving three Real Madrid players, Vinicius, Mbappé, and Konaté, who shared the shirt with the slogan “Todos somos Caballas” (“We are all Caballas”), in support of the city of Ceuta. A controversy that the French star tried to explain by assuring that his intention was also to side with migrants, but neither the Brazilian nor the French player has made any public statement about it.
The white club’s visit sought to reaffirm ties with a city to which the club has always shown its support, as was already seen at the Santiago Bernabéu during the Champions League match against Inter Milan. In that match, many Ceuta flags were displayed and the chant was: “Ceuta is not for sale, Ceuta is defended.”
The delegation plans to stay only a few hours in the autonomous city. It is more of a symbolic gesture than an official visit as such, despite Pirri’s special connection with this city, where he is a native.
