Rubiales: “I want to start from scratch”

Luis Rubiales, former president of the RFEF, broke his silence after being accused of corruption in an interview given to La Sexta from Punta Cana. The former president returned to Spain today after more than two months in the Caribbean country and, after giving a statement, was released.

Are you going back to Spain?

Of course I will be back. The first thing I did was send a letter to the court, they claim nothing from me. I will explain everything you ask.

Why in the Dominican Republic?

I blocked my accounts. Things are done with due care.

Do you think he can be stopped?

If they call me to testify, I will. I will appear, I am most interested in cooperation. I will go where the agents tell me.

What do you do for a living now?

I have a lot of savings. All the money I have is the result of my work and my savings. I tried to start businesses, here and elsewhere. Until now I have not earned anything, but there are people who can help me.

Why in the Dominican Republic?

Why not? I came to explore the possibilities. A place that allows me to start from scratch, I want to get out of the spotlight and meet people. I need to earn an honest living to support my family. There are many opportunities here.

You came because you wanted to

They don’t allow me to work in football. I received a beating in the media that made me unable to live in Spain. I pay taxes in Spain and my income is in Spain.

Why do you think they are investigating you?

I haven’t been bitten yet. I am not going to question the law enforcement agencies, if they have doubts we will clarify them. No one has a summary. I experienced 70 complaints. They said I was hit by a ball and it’s not true. In this country there is no presumption of innocence. I said I will clarify what I know.

What is your relationship with the construction company Gruconsa?

I have nothing to do with it. He is not my right hand brother. When I became president I never worked for that construction company. If it was done for the Federation and shown to be efficient, then those who validated those contracts would have to justify it. In Spain, there seems to be no presumption of innocence for some people. I tell him that I will clarify everything, at least what I know.

What kind of business do you want to do in the Dominican Republic?

It’s not about having experience or not. Hotel businesses, buying and selling real estate, construction. It’s like they don’t want me to make money in football or outside of football. I experienced such a great media defeat, not social, that it was impossible for me to work in Spain, or in Asia.

Do you have bank accounts in the Dominican Republic?

In a few months, not new. I don’t have accounts anywhere else. My income was from football when I was president, I paid taxes on everything in Spain. Don’t let people think that he has millions of euros. I earned my income and had life savings. I have never been bitten in my life.

Have you ever made a contract to get a bribe?

Never. Have you seen the UCO summary? If it is not public.

?What is the reason for entering the homes of the Civil Guard?

We need to clear up the doubts in the Civil Guard, but I will not question the forces of public order. And if you have questions we will clarify them. The summary is not mine, neither am I or you or anyone else. I don’t have the Civil Guard in mind. I have 70 complaints and I have proved it to everyone. They linked me to a plot of land that they said they would use for housing and I had nothing to do with it. Another one in Cape Verde, which I’ve never been to.

Do you understand that people find it strange that the brother of someone you trust is in the construction company you give projects to?

What seems strange to me is that someone can be banned when they pass a contest and the filters. You can’t leave someone because they have a family. There are legal and compliance level filters. Regarding my friend, if he is a delegate and there is something, they ask him, not me.

I’m here today to say it’s a lie that he bit on apartments here, on money diverted from a baseball team that’s a lie, about Cape Verde, about land for hotels in Saudi Arabia… The statement that the method was done and the money in my account had nothing to do with it.

The La Cartuja contract is being investigated. Do you think it was done flawlessly?

I am convinced. If it passes the filters of the people concerned, I am convinced that it has been done well. Under the confidentiality summary there is information that did not reach me. The president of the Federation has no standard to say this work and others.

Did you not receive payments from these operations?

Never. It cannot be proved.

Nene, who is he and what is his relationship with her?

He is a man a year older than I have known for 30 years. I love him and his wife very much. I don’t understand, I’m so angry with Puri. Besides his friend, he is a long-time businessman in hotels, construction… But I don’t want to go in, his lawyer will advise him and he will say what he has to say. In any case Nene gave me a piece of work and told me to take it.

Did they try to do business here together?

We are. But I can’t afford Cocacola. My accounts are blocked and they won’t let me work. They blocked my accounts here the other day and the ones in Spain four or five days ago.

Do you understand that they miss the audios with Nene?

If they are manipulated and taken out of context, I understand. You are in a destructive current against people who have nothing proven about them. Obviously I wasn’t bitten. I am not a victim, the victims are my family and my friends. What is the problem with the RFEF president recommending that an entrepreneur invest in a site? I don’t live in a bubble. We are in a country where the presumption is guilt.

Spanish justice

I fully respect the justice of the Spanish and I was not called to testify. I announced that I will return to Spain soon. I have to start from scratch with my blocked accounts. Setting up a business is complicated, people stay away from me.”

What about the contract with Kosmos and Arabia?

“It was Kosmos who brought Saudi Arabia. It is a lie that we chose that offer having a better one. We chose the best offer because the Qatar proposal declined. Many clubs were saved with that money. The filters were passed. It is being investigated because there are complaints. I “I did not bite Piqué. He didn’t offer me either.”