The Super League President spoke up.
All Monday, the world was abuzz with the Super League - someone was dissatisfied with the greed of 12 top clubs, someone delved into how it would all work. The president of Real Madrid and the Super League Florentino Perez came out to calm everyone down. But it didn't get any better.
Perez came to the Spanish TV show El Chiringuito and outlined the exclusivity of the moment: “I came to you for the first time on the program. Probably the last time. "
Here are the main points that were voiced by Florentino.
Super League will save world football
Perez says that the Super League project was being prepared for 2 years, but it was forced due to the pandemic and the crisis. Now it is a question of football's survival. Florentino believes that the losses of the top clubs are critical - and they need to be replenished.
"Major clubs in England, Spain and Italy are looking for a way out of a bad situation in which football has found itself... Real Madrid alone have lost 400 million this season. Even our sponsors have problems.
When you only have TV rights income and no other sources, the only solution is to play more engaging matches. Fans from all over the world will watch the big teams play against each other.
The Champions League attracts spectators only from the quarterfinals. In the Super League, interesting matches will be held every Tuesday and Wednesday. For example, the game of Manchester United against Barcelona is much more interesting than the game of Manchester United against some small club. "
The Super League boss said that some matches are simply impossible to watch. The tournaments of the national teams especially hit: “We have too many matches - this needs to be changed. There are national teams' games that are not interesting to anyone - people don't even know who plays there. "
How will the Super League help all of world football? Perez says it's important to pour money into the top clubs, and then they will go to smaller teams.The pyramid principle will work: "Real" receives income from the Super League and will buy dearly the players from the conventional "Getafe" and "Osasuna". As a result, according to Florentino, everyone will become richer and happier.
According to Perez's calculations, the Super League participants will receive several times more money than the winner of the Champions League - and this is a serious argument for everyone. For example, the president of Real Madrid said that he was able to quickly convince the president of Barcelona, Joan Laporte, of the need for the Super League, although he was against it during the election campaign.
We just need to start as soon as possible - the agreement between the clubs was signed on Saturday. There is no turning back - now everyone is bound by a contract. It remains to agree with UEFA and FIFA - if possible, they will start in August.
Who else will be invited to the Super League? Who will judge?
15 participants are announced in the competition, and there are only 12 founding clubs so far. Naturally, questions arose about who else would be added.
"We have not invited PSG and German teams to the Super League yet. If Bayern refuses, it will not be a problem, ”Perez replied about the candidacies.
And then Perez got caught manipulating facts. Der Spiegel has the Super League regulations at its disposal. They say that PSG have 14 more days to respond to the invitation, Bayern and Borussia D - 30 days each. That is, all three clubs were part of the new tournament, although formally Perez is right: they may not have received a formal invitation. But did Real Madrid, for example, receive it?
In addition, according to The Independent insider Miguel Delaney, late last night the Super League bosses actively pressured PSG to accept the invitation.
But Perez drew attention to the fact that the Super League will not be closed - other clubs will be able to take part in it:
"Clubs like Napoli, Roma or Sevilla will have a chance to play in the Super League this or that year - five teams will be based on a sporting principle.
If necessary, we will make the second division of the Super League. - and it will be more interesting than what is now. "
And who will judge the tournament if UEFA and FIFA disqualify everyone associated with the Super League? Perez's answer is simple and incomprehensible: they will call the best referees...
Financial fair play will remain, but in a different form. In the Super League, a salary ceiling will be introduced - 55% of the club's income.
UEFA threats are just threats
Of course, Florentino's main task was to respond to claims from UEFA, FIFA and national leagues - all threatened with sanctions to the Super League participants, exclusion from the championships, and a ban on football players from playing for national teams. The most radical measure is to expel the founding clubs from the current Champions League draw.
“None of this will happen. Nobody will exclude Real Madrid from the current Champions League, no one will kick the top clubs out of La Liga - these are just threats. We are protected by the law. Football players shouldn't worry either - no one will disqualify them. I am 100% sure of this.
All this is simply impossible. There should be dialogue, not threats. "
As you already understood, Florentino is dissatisfied with the behavior of UEFA and FIFA - he does not like either Čeferin's statements about Andrea Agnelli, no threats from organizations.
“UEFA is a monopoly. Moreover, it is as opaque as possible.Why do I know how much LeBron James makes, but I don't know how much the UEFA president gets? We at Real have cut salaries, but I don't know if UEFA and La Liga took a similar step.
They used to have a monopoly on football. But this era is over. If UEFA and FIFA do not enter into dialogue with us, then we will make the Super League without them. "
Football is outdated - needs to be updated for the sake of young fans
Calling the reasons for change, Perez copies theses by Andrea Agnelli, the main thing: young people are not interested in watching matches for 90 minutes, so you need to give them loud posters.
“Football should develop as everything else develops. He must adapt to the conditions of the time in which we live. Football is losing its popularity. Because of this, the audience and sales of TV rights are decreasing.
People aged 16-24 are no longer interested in football. They are interested in entertainment programs, and we realized that we need to change. Sometimes my grandchildren and I, or politicians, do not understand each other, and we need to make efforts to understand them. If the youth say that the matches are too long, that they need to be shortened, then I don’t know, we need to think about it.".
Perez says UEFA's proposed Champions League reform will not work.
“UEFA was working on a new format for the Champions League, which, with all due respect, I never understood. We want to change a model that no longer works. Nobody understands the new model. Clubs have lost millions of euros.We have no time to wait "We will be dead by 2024 and the implementation of the new Champions League model."
Perez stated that he has no personal interest in the project:
“My personal gain? The Super League is not going to enrich me in any way. I am not the owner of Real Madrid - the club belongs to the sosos. I just want to save football. "
What we learned about the Super League on Monday: Bayern and Borussia will not be there, the players and coaches were not told anything
Photo: / Sebastian Widmann, Eric Alonso, Jan Kruger; / JCrojas, Craig Mercer