Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, defended the mission final Sunday and was adopted by his Juventus counterpart Andrea Agnelli and then Barcelona chief Joan Laporta.
In this file photograph taken on 3 December 2018 Real Madrid’s president Florentino Perez poses upon arrival on the 2018 Ballon d’Or award ceremony on the Grand Palais in Paris. Picture: AFP
SPAIN – The fundamental advocates of the Super League are not giving up.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, defended the mission final Sunday and was adopted by his Juventus counterpart Andrea Agnelli and then Barcelona chief Joan Laporta. A court docket choice in 2023 will likely be essential in figuring out the mission’s future.
“There are no football clubs among the ten richest entities in the world, we must be doing something very wrong in old Europe,” Perez defined.
Perez led a bunch of 12 main European golf equipment into the Super League mission in April 2021 nevertheless it vanished a number of days after it was introduced after stress from followers and authorities.
The solely golf equipment which have tried to maintain alive a league that will be direct competitors for the Champions League are Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus.
Perez in contrast European soccer with tennis.
“What is the point of depriving the fans of the big matches? Nadal and Federer met 40 times. Nadal and Djokovic, 59, is it boring? Liverpool and Real Madrid have faced nine times in 67 years,” he advised the Madrid’s members meeting.
The Super League mission got here again to life in July, when litigation for an alleged abuse of a dominant place by UEFA was dropped at the European Union Court of Justice, on the request of a Madrid decide to whom the Super League chiefs turned.
HEALTHY AND BEAUTIFUL
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin responded to Perez.
“Once again he has shown that his idea is to close everything off, without games against smaller teams,” he advised a information convention in Rome.
On Thursday, in a letter to shareholders, Agnelli, reaffirmed his “commitment” to the mission and proposed “establishing a direct link with sponsors who dare to take business risks, and control of economic resources.”
On the identical day, Barcelona introduced their accounts and Eduard Romeu, their monetary vice-president, mentioned “considering the Super League again would be positive.”
That was adopted by a Laporta interview with Sonora, reported by Marca, on Sunday.
“A Super League would be an improved Champions League, with a better format, it would surely be the most attractive competition in the world,” mentioned the Barcelona president.
However, Laporta mentioned he would like not to have a closed format for the competitors. “We have to have an open Super League, where there’s meritocracy,” he mentioned.
“I think that the big clubs always playing each other would be tiring,” he added. “Those who like football among us, would end up tired. It’s healthy and beautiful that a smaller team can beat a bigger team.
“To again the underdog could be very good. You see a Euros gained by Greece, and it is stunning. And when Leicester gained (the Premier League) in England it was particular.”
SUCCESS OR FAILURE?
Opponents of the project have also spoken out.
On Friday, UEFA and the European Commission announced the renewal of their cooperation agreement which “goals to make use of European soccer as a power for constructive change” until 2025.
To counter the Super League, UEFA announced a sweeping overhaul of the Champions League in May to start in 2024, with 36 teams instead of 32 and an eight-match mini-championship instead of the traditional group stage.
The television rights will be sold for a projected 15 billion euros (14.6 billion dollars) for three years (2024-2027).
“Sales of the brand new format within the US are up 150 %. In the UK and France, not a lot. It reveals that the brand new format could be very profitable even earlier than it begins,” said Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, one of the big European clubs that was not in the initial Super League agreement.
“Football should develop however in a approach that respects all golf equipment – small, medium and massive,” added Al-Khelaifi, who can also be president of the European Club Association (ECA) and vice-president of UEFA.
The judicial course of continues, which can be key within the battle’s final decision. The remaining choice is predicted close to the start of 2023.