Manu Fernandez / Associated Press
The president of Real Madrid and the chairman of the Super League, Florentino Perez, defended the league during an appearance on the Spanish television program El Chiringuito Monday in the midst of increasing condemnation in the football world.
“Many important clubs in Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom want to find a solution to a very bad financial situation. The only way is to play more competitive games,” he said (h / t football reporter) Fabrizio Romano). “If instead of the [Champions League], Super League helps the clubs to recover the lost earnings. ‘
Perez said clubs were in financial ruin, especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Super League would ‘save football’:
Fabrizio Romano @FabrizioRomano
Florentino Perez to El Chiringuito: “Here at Real Madrid we have lost a lot of money, we are all going through a very bad situation. If there is no profit, the only way is to play more competitive games during the week. #SuperLeague will save the clubs financially “. 🚨
Fabrizio Romano @FabrizioRomano
Florentino Perez: “Football must develop like everything in life. Football must adapt to the times in which we live now. Football is losing interest, TV rights are declining. We wanted to do the #SuperLeague, the pandemic has given us an urgent need: now we are all devastated in football “. 🚨
Fabrizio Romano @FabrizioRomano
Florentino Perez to Chiringuito: “The attractive thing in football is to play between big clubs, the value for television increases and more income is generated. It’s not just the rich who want the #SuperLeague, we do it for football to save, because it’s at a critical moment “.
Fabrizio Romano @FabrizioRomano
Florentino Perez: “UEFA is a monopoly, but it needs to be more transparent. We want to save football for the next 20 years, it is in a time of serious danger. If you win, you will receive € 120 to € 130 million from UEFA , but with #SuperLeague we will earn a lot more “. 🚨
Perez also refutes the idea that Super League founders who are currently in the semi-finals of the Champions League (Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester City) and Europa League (Arsenal, Manchester United) will not be allowed to complete the campaigns.
“Impossible, I can assure you,” he said. “One hundred percent.”
“Real Madrid and other SuperLeague clubs will NOT be excluded from this Champions League 2020-21,” he added. “It will not happen, the law protects us. It’s impossible. ‘
This is in response to comments from Jesper Moller, who sat on UEFA’s executive committee earlier on Monday and is also the chairman of the Danish Football Union.
“[Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea] go out, and I expect that to happen on Friday, ‘he said DR Sport on Monday (h / t Mike Goodman of CBS Sports). “And then you have to see how to finish the Champions League.”
Perez also pushed it back threats of the UEFA president Alex Ceferin that players at Super League clubs are banned from participating in international events such as the Euro or World Cup.
“Players banned by UEFA for international competitions and national teams? Do not worry, it will not happen,” he said. “They will not be banned if they join the Super League.”
The Super League officially formed over the weekend with 12 clubs – AC Milan, Arsenal, Atletico, Chelsea, Barcelona, Inter, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Tottenham – serving as founding members and three other clubs set join as founders.
Perez said Paris Saint Germain and Bayern Munich were not invited to join the league and that the Super League could not be canceled without them.
“It’s a bull – t,” Perez said.
The fifteen clubs can secure a place in the midweek tournament each year, and another five clubs can join them annually. In essence, the Super League is set to replace the Champions League for a number of the biggest clubs in the world, hoping to avoid the financial uncertainties that would prevent the possibility of qualifying for a place to sleep in the Champions League.
That clubs are trying to circumvent the merit-based system of UCL qualification is a major concern for fans and experts. Another is the fear that the giant potential payday of the Super League – JP Morgan is set to be a financial support, with founding clubs providing a The € 3.5 billion windfall, simply for participating in the competition, will further widen the gap between the sport’s financial capabilities.
And there is also the concern that the midweek tournament will simply be a test run for Super League clubs to eventually separate completely from their local leagues, even though Perez has pushed it back.
“[United Kingdom Prime Minister] Boris Johnson said he would do anything to cancel the cancellation Superliga because they explained to him that the Premier League would disappear, ‘Perez noticed. “It’s false, it’s not true. Everything will be normal again.”
The last point remains extraordinarily debatable in the football world. The consequences of the formation of the Super League could possibly change the landscape of European football forever.