Is the pope a Real Madrid fan? Leo’s admission upsets Barcelona faithful

Pope Leo receives a shirt from the Real Madrid president, Florentino Pérez, on a visit to the Bernabéu on Monday. Photograph: Simone Risoluti/Vatican Media/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Pope Leo receives a shirt from the Real Madrid president, Florentino Pérez, on a visit to the Bernabéu on Monday. Photograph: Simone Risoluti/Vatican Media/AFP/Getty Images Is the pope a Real Madrid fan? Leo’s admission upsets Barcelona faithful Pontiff appeals in Catalan for harmony on Barcelona leg of Spain tour after making football foes in city To the delight of many, Pope Leo XIV kicked off the Barcelona leg of his week-long visit to Spain with a few words in Catalan, calling on the faithful who had gathered in the city’s cathedral on Tuesday “to build harmony and communion beyond all polarisation”. The pontiff’s familiar and commendable plea for people to set aside their differences may, however, have come a little late. Three days earlier, while chatting to journalists on the flight to Spain, Leo had made an awkward confession. Asked whether he supported Real Madrid or their Catalan rivals FC Barcelona, he had artfully sought to separate the job from the man. “That’s easy: the pope is for all teams, but Robert Prevost is for Real Madrid!” he said. Real Madrid, needless to say, were quick to upload the pontiff’s endorsement to social media, proclaiming: “The pope is a Real Madrid fan!” His decision to weigh in on the divisive issue was swiftly compounded – in the minds of Barça fans, at least – by his visit to Real’s Santiago Bernabéu stadium on Monday. Before addressing a huge rally in the stadium that evening, he found time to inspect the club’s silverware and to accept a shirt with “Robert F Prevost” on the back from the club president, Florentino Pérez. View image in fullscreen Bad Bunny has been performing in Madrid as part of a world tour – and also visited the Bernabéu. Photograph: Mariano Regidor/Getty Images Less controversially, it emerged on Tuesday that Leo had also met the Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny at the Bernabéu. “Yes … I confirm it,” the Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni told reporters. “[Bad Bunny] was with his family and some other people … [and the pope] greeted them briefly before leaving the stadium.” On his way to Spain , Leo had acknowledged that his visit would present many younger Catholics with a dilemma: “When confronted with the question ‘Do I go see Bad Bunny or do I go to see the pope?’ I think many will go to see Bad Bunny,” he joked. It was during the same Q&A session with journalists that the pope revealed his footballing allegiances. For many non-Madrid fans – especially those in Spanish regions such as Catalonia that have strong identities and more than one official language – Real Madrid, who are known as Los Blancos because of their white kit, are viewed as another pillar of the central state. View image in fullscreen Leo greets the faithful at Barcelona Cathedral where he presided over the midday praye