Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has admitted that the European Super League is “on standby” after eight of the 12 clubs involved announced their withdrawal – while calling the current Champions League format “obsolete”, claiming that the reaction to the project was “as if we had killed football.”
Perez – one of the main instigators of the proposed breakaway match, named as the first chairman – also dismissed fan protests, such as those seen outside Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, saying there were ‘only 40’ fans involved and suggested they had been ‘. mobilized “by opponents of the Super League.
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“I am sad and disappointed,” Perez told Spanish radio show El Larguero after Real’s 3-0 win over Cadiz. “We’ve been working on this project for three years … I’ve never seen so much aggression, it’s like it’s orchestrated, it surprised us all. I’ve been in football for 20 years, it’s an aggression I’ve never had. of my life. We’ve had threats, it’s like we killed someone, killed football. “
All six Premier League clubs that initially signed up for the league – Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur – withdrew on Tuesday, before Atletico Madrid and Internazionale followed them a day later.
“Someone in the English group didn’t have much interest, and that became contagious,” Perez said. “One of them was never convinced … [The English clubs] left because of the atmosphere. UEFA has put on a show. It was like we fired an atomic bomb. Maybe we didn’t present and explain it properly, but they didn’t give us the opportunity either. “
Regarding the protests outside Chelsea’s 0-0 Premier League draw with Brighton on Tuesday night, Perez seemingly concluded that La Liga president Javier Tebas was involved in those demonstrations.
“There were 40 [Chelsea fans] and I can tell you who put them there, “he said.” The same person who gave Cadiz [anti-Super League] t-shirts, “Perez said in a veiled reference to Tebas.” That is not normal. Football is a world of values. “
While AC Milan and Juventus released statements on Wednesday admitting that the competition was unlikely to go as planned, Real Madrid and Barcelona had remained silent.
“The project is on standby,” said Perez. “Juventus has not left, neither has Milan. We are all together. Barcelona reflects. The first thing we agreed yesterday was to stop, explain, as we should have done from the start … Nobody paid. [a penalty to leave], the 12 are still there, they haven’t left. After a lot of work, we signed a binding agreement. “
Perez stressed that the drop in income due to the coronavirus pandemic, coupled with the diminishing interest from new generations of fans, had to be offset by radical changes in European football beyond those proposed by UEFA in their new Champions League formula revealed on Monday.
“[Big signings] won’t exist without the Super League, ‘he said. Not for Madrid or anyone. It is impossible if the money is not flowing. “
Perez denied that Real Madrid – a club owned by its members or partnerslike Barcelona – should put plans to a vote at the annual meeting.
“Do you think [the members] are stupid? ‘he said.’ If you tell them every Tuesday or Wednesday, you’re playing against Manchester [United] or Barcelona … Won’t they prefer that? Don’t you think the fans prefer to play against the big clubs from the start? Do you think I should ask them that? ‘