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Florentino Perez, president of Real Madrid, speaks at the farewell ceremony for club legend Karim Benzema at Valdebebas in Madrid, Spain, June 6, 2023. /CFP
Florentino Perez, president of Real Madrid, speaks at the farewell ceremony for club legend Karim Benzema at Valdebebas in Madrid, Spain, June 6, 2023. /CFP
Florentino Perez, president of Real Madrid, continued to defend the European Super League at the club’s annual general meeting on Saturday and criticized the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for its work of organizing football competitions.
“Football is suffering an unprecedented institutional crisis. At all levels, both in Spain and in Europe,” Perez said. “The main problem is that there are a series of managers who act without thinking about the fans. And we are going to continue working so that football can once again inspire the greatest number of fans around the world.”
In April 2021, 12 top European clubs, including Real, announced the launch of the Super League, but it soon aborted the plan after nine of those teams quit, leaving only Real, Barcelona and Juventus. A court case ensued, and in December 2022, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in UEFA’s favor regarding the Super League. The final, binding verdict will be made in December this year.
Though a new version of the Super League was created to include 60 to 80 clubs competing in a “multi-divisional competition” in February, Juventus confirmed their withdrawal from the tournament in June.
The logo of UEFA, the football governing body in Europe. /CFP
The logo of UEFA, the football governing body in Europe. /CFP
“European football does not belong to the president of UEFA. Spanish football does not belong to the president of La Liga. Football is nobody’s monopoly because football belongs to everybody. The aim of the Super League is very clear: to offer the best possible club competition,” Perez said.
“We need to impose, once and for all, maximum respect for the rules of financial fair play. To achieve this, we need transparent and modern corporate governance structures that are fit for the 21st century and subject to the principles and laws of the European Union,” he added.
In the Real boss’ eyes, UEFA is still running football “in the same way as 30 years ago,” and its management lacks “innovation,””modernization” and “transparency.”
“We therefore hope that on December 21, when we will hear the decision of the European Court of Justice on this case, it will mark the beginning of a new era for the good of football,” Perez said.
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