Real Madrid President Florentino Perez continues to insist ‘the clubs can’t leave’ the Super League project and JP Morgan haven’t abandoned it either. ‘Either we fix this before 2024 or all the clubs go bankrupt.'
There are only four clubs still signed on to the project, namely Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and Milan, all of them facing potential Champions League exclusion for their commitment to the breakaway division.
Real Madrid President Florentino Perez continues to insist ‘the clubs can’t leave’ the Super League project and JP Morgan haven’t abandoned it either. ‘Either we fix this before 2024 or all the clubs go bankrupt.'
There are only four clubs still signed on to the project, namely Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and Milan, all of them facing potential Champions League exclusion for their commitment to the breakaway division.
“The entity exists and the members who make up the Super League are there too,” Real Madrid chief Perez told Spanish newspaper Diario AS.
“What we’ve done is given ourselves a few weeks to reflect on the hostility with which certain people who don’t want to lose their privileges have manipulated the project.
“Back in January the president of UEFA sent out severe warning shots about the Super League. We wanted to talk through the details with UEFA, but they didn’t even give us time. An orchestrated, manipulated operation was organised, the like of which I’ve never seen. I’ve never seen anything like it.
“We were forced to turn to the courts, who issued an injunction, enough said. It orders UEFA and FIFA, and also the leagues and national football associations to abstain from taking any measure or action, or issuing any statement or communication, that prevents the preparation of the Super League. In my opinion, this judgement ends UEFA’s monopoly. But despite it being issued on Tuesday, the president of UEFA continued with his threats on Wednesday. These are actions that go against free competition in the European Union, and that is very serious.”
Meanwhile, Perez also insisted the clubs who declared their exit from the project – Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, Inter and Atletico Madrid – haven’t really done so.
“I’m not going to take my time to explain what a binding contract is here. But the fact is, the clubs can’t leave.
“Some, because of the pressure, have had to say they’ll leave. But this project, or something very similar, will happen, and I hope it’s in the near future.”
Even investment bank JP Morgan released a rare statement apologising for their involvement in the project, but again Perez assures that is all for show.
“That’s not true, they haven’t left either. They’ve taken time to reflect, like the 12 clubs. If something needs to be changed, it’ll be changed, but the Super League is the best project we’ve thought can be carried out. What we need to do is get the fans back, the youngsters. And to do that, changes have to be made. If UEFA want to do it with the project they announced the other day, well the truth is I didn’t understand it nor do I think it would be a good solution. What’s more, they want to start in 2024, and we’ll see which teams push back.”
The format for the new Champions League would be almost identical to the one proposed by the Super League, two groups of 10 playing home and away in a mini-division to then reach knockout rounds.
“Either we fix this before 2024 or all the clubs go bankrupt. There will be a mutiny of the teams as they go bankrupt, because the only ones who will survive will be state financed clubs or who have multimillionaire owners, who are willing, for their own entertainment, to lose hundreds of millions [of euros] each season.”