European Super League: President Florentino Perez answers all the key questions in interview

While that opinion may be accurate, it’s always good to hear both sides of the story.

That hasn’t been possible with the clubs involved staying silent over than a blanket statement to announce their plans on Sunday night. There was a basic website set up but there was still very little information as to why the European Super League is happening.

That was until appointed president Florentino Perez gave a fascinating interview to El Chiringuito TV on Monday night.

Perez, who is also the president of Real Madrid, explained everything and answered many questions about the European Super League.

And journalist Fabrizio Romano detailed everything he said.

So, do you still have questions about the Super League? Well, Perez attempted to answer all of them. Here goes:

Florentino Perez on the European Super League

Why has it been set up?

• “Many important clubs in Spain, Italy and UK want to find a solution to a very bad financial situation. 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”.

• “Here at Real Madrid we’ve lost a lot of money, we are all going through a very bad situation. When there is no profit, the only way is to play more competitive games during the week. The #SuperLeague will save the clubs financially”.

• “Football must evolve like everything in life. Football has to adapt to the times we live in now. Football is losing interest, TV rights are decreasing. We wanted to do the #SuperLeague, the pandemic has given us urgency: now we are all ruined in football”

• Football needs to change to be more attractive globally. Instead of making the Champions League because it lost interest as he had in 1950, change comes and even at the time FIFA and UEFA were against it. But that’s how football changed…”

• “The attractive thing in football is playing between big clubs, the value for television increases and more income is generated. It’s not just the rich who want the #SuperLeague, we’re doing it to save football because it’s at a critical moment”.

• “It will become like a pyramid because we big clubs will have more money and we will be able to invest it by buying players… if the big clubs lose their money as is happening, the whole football system crashes as with the Champions League”.

Is it a closed league?

• “The #SuperLeague is NOT a closed league, it’s absolutely not true. Whoever wins the five available spots will be able to play with the other best teams in the world”.

• “We will speak to UEFA, as we said in the statement. We have to discuss with UEFA the 5 spots available in the #SuperLeague. UEFA has been working on the new format of the UCL, but I honestly don’t understand it. We want to save football”.

• “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 receive €120 to € 130m from UEFA but with #SuperLeague we will earn much more”.

Will players be banned from playing international games?

• “Players banned from international competitions and National teams according to UEFA? Don’t worry, this will NOT happen. They won’t be banned if they join #SuperLeague”.

Will clubs be banned from this season’s Europa League/Champions League?

• “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”.

What will happen to the Premier League?

• “Even in the Premier League, if the top clubs are economically stronger, all the other clubs will also become stronger. It is a consequence. We want to dialogue with UEFA as we proposed in the #SuperLeague, we want to save football”.

Have PSG and Bayern rejected the plans?

• “PSG were NOT invited, as of today. We haven’t even spoken to German clubs. We are now 12 clubs, we want to become 15 clubs. If PSG and Bayern Munich refuse, the #SuperLeague competition will not be cancelled. This is a bull***t”.

• “President Ceferin insulted Andrea Agnelli today, it is not possible. It’s crazy to discuss a president of a world club like Juventus. This is something unacceptable, UEFA must change, we don’t want a president who insults other presidents”.

• “The 15 founding clubs are the ones that matter the most in terms of entertainment. Others likes of Napoli, Roma will have a chance to be in the competition one year or another and then let’s see”.

• “This #SuperLeague is not for the rich, but it’s to save football. If this continues, football will disappear and by 2024 we would already be dead. This is the only way to save everyone: big, medium and small clubs”.

• “Boris Johnson said he will do everything to cancel the #SuperLeague because they explained to him that the Premier League would disappear: it’s false, it’s not true. Everything will go back to normal…”

• “Real Madrid and other SuperLeague clubs will NOT be excluded from this 2020/2021 Champions League. It won’t happen, the law protects us. This is impossible”.

What about the Champions League?

• “The new Champions League format for 2024 is something absurd. I have no personal interest in making this #SuperLeague, I am not the owner of Real but only the president because Real is owned by the members. I only want to save football”.

• “Barcelona are going through a difficult economic situation, Laporta immediately understood and accepted like all the great clubs in the world. This #SuperLeague will save the entire world of football”.

• “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”.

Can clubs pull out?

• “The contract of the #SuperLeague is binding. Nobody can leave, we will work all together. All the clubs signed the contracts last Saturday, there’s no problem”.

• “Why aren’t UEFA and La Liga salaries public? Why haven’t salaries been reduced like everyone else during the pandemic? We need more transparency. We know the salary of LeBron James but we don’t know the salary of the UEFA president”.

Read More: European Super League: Everything you need to know

When will it start?

• “If we can start the #SuperLeague in August, we would do it. We will do our best to start this year. We want to reach an agreement with UEFA and the other parties involved. We will talk with UEFA, FIFA and not only”.

• “If we can’t find an agreement with UEFA, we will NOT back down. If they want to wait for 2024 to make the reform, they can wait. We’re not waiting for anyone because we need the #SuperLeague”.

• “If young people find football matches too long it may be because they are not interesting enough… or maybe we might have to make the football matches shorter”.

 

Arab Observer