Perez says European Super League is 'responding to wishes of fans'

‘We are going to help football at ALL levels’: Florentino Perez insists creation of controversial European Super League is ‘responding to wishes of four billion fans’… after Real Madrid chief is confirmed as president of the new breakaway league

  • Twelve top European clubs have signed up for a new controversial Super League 
  • Real Madrid chief Florentino Perez will be the new president of the league 
  • The 74-year-old has spoken for the first time since Sunday night’s announcement
  • The move sparked fury from FIFA, the Premier League and pundits worldwide

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez believes the creation of a new controversial Super League will ‘help football at all levels’ after Los Blancos were confirmed as one of 12 European clubs involved. 

On Sunday night, Madrid joined fellow Spanish heavyweights Barcelona and Atletico and the ‘Big Six’ from England and three Italian clubs in confirming their involvement of a new breakaway league. 

Perez – who won his fifth term as Madrid president last week until 2025 after running unopposed in elections – has been confirmed as the president of the new league and despite near-total condemnation of the proposals, the 74-year-old insisted it is the right choice for the global game. 

Florentino Perez believes a new controversial Super League will ‘help football at all levels’

UEFA’s Champions League is under serious threat of a breakaway league of the top teams (pictured, Real Madrid winning the 2018 Champions League, their 13th European crown) 

‘We are going to help football at all levels to take its rightful place in the world,’ Perez said, as per reports from Spanish outlet Marca. 

‘Football is the only global sport in the world with more than four billion fans and it is our responsibility as a big club to respond to the wishes of the fans.’ 

Every club involved, including Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City, Juventus, Inter and AC Milan, have collectively withdrawn from the European Club Association. 

Andrea Agnelli has reportedly resigned from his role as president of the ECA last night 

President of Juventus Andrea Agnellii has also reportedly resigned as president of the ECA and is ‘walking away’ from the UEFA Executive Committee.   

The Italian, and a vice-president of the new Super League, said in a statement: ‘Our 12 founding clubs represent billions of fans around the world.

‘We have come together at this critical moment, so that European competition is transformed, giving the sport we love a foundation that is sustainable for the future, substantially increasing solidarity and giving fans and amateur players a dream and top-quality matches that will fuel their passion for football.’ 


Manchester United and Chelsea were among a group of six Premier League teams announced on Sunday night to join a breakaway European Super League


Liverpool and Tottenham are among six English teams to have agreed to the new project

UEFA, who were due to announce their own proposals for a revamped Champions League on Monday, reacted with fury to the news which had broken earlier on Sunday. 

FIFA and the six Federations announced that the clubs concerned will be banned from playing in any other competition at domestic, European or world level, and their players could be denied the opportunity to represent their national teams.’

Meanwhile, a letter sent by Premier League chief executive Richard Masters to all 20 member clubs, took a similarly strong stance. ‘We do not and cannot support such a concept,’ he wrote.

SUPER LEAGUE FULL STATEMENT AND COMPETITION FORMAT

Twelve of Europe’s leading football clubs have today [Sunday] come together to announce they have agreed to establish a new mid-week competition, the Super League, governed by its Founding Clubs.

AC Milan, Arsenal, Atlético Madrid, Chelsea, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur have all joined as Founding Clubs.

It is anticipated that a further three clubs will join ahead of the inaugural season, which is intended to commence as soon as practicable. Going forward, the Founding Clubs look forward to holding discussions with UEFA and FIFA to work together in partnership to deliver the best outcomes for the new League and for football as a whole.

The formation of the Super League comes at a time when the global pandemic has accelerated the instability in the existing European football economic model. Further, for a number of years, the Founding Clubs have had the objective of improving the quality and intensity of existing European competitions throughout each season, and of creating a format for top clubs and players to compete on a regular basis.

The pandemic has shown that a strategic vision and a sustainable commercial approach are required to enhance value and support for the benefit of the entire European football pyramid.

In recent months extensive dialogue has taken place with football stakeholders regarding the future format of European competitions. The Founding Clubs believe the solutions proposed following these talks do not solve fundamental issues, including the need to provide higher quality matches and additional financial resources for the overall football pyramid.

Competition Format

• 20 participating clubs with 15 Founding Clubs and a qualifying mechanism for a further five teams to qualify annually based on achievements in the prior season.

• Midweek fixtures with all participating clubs continuing to compete in their respective national leagues, preserving the traditional domestic match calendar which remains at the heart of the club game.

• An August start with clubs participating in two groups of ten, playing home and away fixtures, with the top three in each group automatically qualifying for the quarter finals.

Teams finishing fourth and fifth will then compete in a two-legged play-off for the remaining quarter-final positions. A two-leg knockout format will be used to reach the final at the end of May, which will be staged as a single fixture at a neutral venue.

As soon as practicable after the start of the men’s competition, a corresponding women’s league will also be launched, helping to advance and develop the women’s game. 

The new annual tournament will provide significantly greater economic growth and support for European football via a long-term commitment to uncapped solidarity payments which will grow in line with league revenues. These solidarity payments will be substantially higher than those generated by the current European competition and are expected to be in excess of €10 billion (£8.7bn) during the course of the initial commitment period of the Clubs.

In addition, the competition will be built on a sustainable financial foundation with all Founding Clubs signing up to a spending framework. In exchange for their commitment, Founding Clubs will receive an amount of €3.5 billion (£3bn) solely to support their infrastructure investment plans and to offset the impact of the COVID pandemic. Florentino Pérez, President of Real Madrid and the first Chairman of the Super League said: ‘We will help football at every level and take it to its rightful place in the world. Football is the only global sport in the world with more than four billion fans and our responsibility as big clubs is to respond to their desires.’

Backing the new European league, Andrea Agnelli, Chairman of Juventus and Vice-Chairman of the Super League said: ‘Our 12 Founder clubs represent billions of fans across the globe and 99 European trophies. We have come together at this critical moment, enabling European competition to be transformed, putting the game we love on a sustainable footing for the long-term future, substantially increasing solidarity, and giving fans and amateur players a regular flow of headline fixtures that will feed their passion for the game while providing them with engaging role models.’

Joel Glazer, Co-Chairman of Manchester United and Vice-Chairman of the Super League said: ‘By bringing together the world’s greatest clubs and players to play each other throughout the season, the Super League will open a new chapter for European football, ensuring world class competition and facilities, and increased financial support for the wider football pyramid.’



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