Pérez Llorca tries to dispel doubts about his trip to the World Cup final: "I paid for the trip to the World Cup final out of my own pocket"

A new controversy surrounding the president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Juanfran Pérez Llorca, this time related to the World Cup final won by Spain, held last Sunday, July 19, in New York, United States. The president attended the final, and this has sparked controversy about with what money he traveled to see the final.

The institutional response has been that the ticket was an invitation from the Royal Spanish Football Federation, a matter confirmed by elDiario.es, in addition to the expenses being paid out of Llorca's pocket. The Popular Party insists that the trip cost "zero euros" to Valencians and that it was carried out privately. Not a single mention has been made in the Transparency Portal of the Generalitat, neither in his agenda nor as a gift.

To all this, the RFEF confirms that the president of the Generalitat Valenciana requested to buy a ticket "personally" and the Federation considered inviting him. The same happened with professional football clubs, former world champions, social and sports celebrities, and authorities of all political colors who have contacted the RFEF, in view of the position they hold, according to sources consulted by elDiario.es.

However, this has not satisfied the opposition, and they have requested the invoices and details and question compliance with the transparency rule, as it is a personal trip, which makes the line somewhat blurry. Pérez Llorca's trip to New York is not listed on the official agenda of the Generalitat Valenciana. Nor does it appear as a gift or as an influence activity on the Transparency Portal; if it were an invitation as a public official, it should be reflected on this website and accountability should be rendered for it. The leader concluded his public agenda on Friday after presiding over the plenary session of the Consell and did not resume it until Tuesday, with a visit to the fishermen's market in Santa Pola, so there have been four days with the official agenda blank and without explanations.

Given this dubious situation, the autonomous law states that high-ranking officials must publish "the trips and displacements outside the Valencian Community made in the exercise of their function, indicating the purpose, destination, means of transport, date, number of companions, and the detailed total cost, including per diems and other expenses associated with the high-ranking official's trip." And in the event that it had been a gift from the RFEF, the law states that "they must not accept gifts that exceed the uses and customs of courtesy, nor accept favors or services under advantageous conditions that could condition the exercise of their functions."

Still, neither the Presidency of the Generalitat nor the RFEF have commented to answer these questions, in addition to the fact that tickets for the final were not cheap at all. The price of a seat for the World Cup final has far exceeded 7,000 euros, this being the lowest range and with the worst visibility on the field.

Sumar, after seeing what happened, did not want to overlook it, and asked about: "What type of locality, ticket or accreditation was provided to him, what was its economic value and what entity assumed its cost?" In addition, if the RFEF has assumed "directly or indirectly" any type of cost of the president's trip, and if other regional presidents have been invited, "what objective criteria were followed to award them" and if the Consejo Superior de Deportes will require information.

Also, the PSPV spokesperson José Muñoz, has considered that there is a contradiction between what Pérez Llorca says and what he does, since he said that this trip is personal and he has paid the expenses himself, but the ticket is institutional. "My question is: has he gone as president of the Generalitat regarding the ticket, valued at 24,000 dollars and with the difficulty of obtaining it, but instead he has gone as Pérez Llorca, as a private person, in the case of the trip and, therefore, of the expenses associated with that trip?" Muñoz questioned. Afterwards, he added that "we want to know the invitation letters that the Royal Spanish Football Federation has sent to the Generalitat to know if there has been an invitation from the Federation or if it has been an obtaining of tickets through informal contacts," before stating that they will go to "the ultimate consequences" and if they see that "there is something that is not legal," they will go to Justice.

Finally, the spokesperson for Compromís, Joan Baldoví, also wanted to get involved in the issue by asking several questions: "Why is Pérez Llorca the only president invited? Did he pay for it himself or did a company pay for it?" the Valencianist asked,

El viaje a la final del Mundial lo he pagado de mi bolsillo.
Esta izquierda no está acostumbrada a que un President se pague sus viajes.
No tengo que esconderme de nada. Al contrario, lo he disfrutado como un español más 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/poNcjkmXIG

— JuanFran Pérez Llorca (@JFPerezLlorca) July 21, 2026