Newly appointed president of the European Super League and current president of Real Madrid, Florentino Perez has defended the controversial breakaway league as a necessity to salvage the dwindling financial resources of clubs.
Perez is adamant the league will go ahead as planned whether club giants like Paris Saint-German or Bayern Munich agree to join or not.
In an interview on Monday night with El Chiringuito TV, the Real Madrid boss gave reasons for the breakaway
“Many important clubs in Spain, Italy, and the UK want to find a solution to a very bad financial situation,” he said.
“The only way is to play more competitive games. If instead of playing the CL, Super League helps the clubs to recover the lost earnings.”
Further laying claim to his view, he dismissed any notion that the competition was elitist as smaller clubs had a chance to play in the tournament.
“The attractive thing in football is playing between big clubs, the value for television increases and more income is generated,” he stated.
“It’s not just the rich who want the #SuperLeague, we’re doing it to save football because it’s at a critical moment.”
Perez also assured players and clubs of no penalties if they joined the Super League
“Players banned from international competitions and National teams according to UEFA? Don’t worry, this will NOT happen.”
“Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Chelsea as the other clubs of #SuperLeague will NOT be banned from the Champions League or domestic leagues. 100%, I’m sure. Impossible.”
Speaking on the proposed new Champions League format for 2024, Perez called it “absurd” insisting his goal for the Super League was to save football.
Clive Brunskill / POOL / AFP
He also said invitations had not been sent to Ligue 1 Champions and UEFA Champions League winners but their refusal will not hamper the progress of the league.
“We have not invited PSG yet, we’re gonna talk with many clubs and explicate them about the #SuperLeague project. If Bayern refuses to join it won’t cancel, don’t worry. We also will hire some of the best referees in the world,” he said.
Already, there are pockets of protests in some cities in Europe, and on Monday evening, Leeds United players wore T-shirts with a slogan against a proposed new European Super League during the warm-up for the English Premier League football match between Leeds United and Liverpool at Elland Road in Leeds.
Top players and officials have also spoken against the new competition.