Florentino Perez, President of Real Madrid, photographed on February 18, 2020 in Madrid, Spain.
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LONDON – European Super League president says plans to form a new elite separatist competition are designed “to save” football, pushing back widespread criticism, saying change is needed because young people are “no longer interested” in the sport. .
In an interview with Spanish television show El Chiringuito de Jugones on Monday, Florentino Perez, who is also president of Spanish club Real Madrid, said: “Whenever there is a change, there are always people who oppose … and us we are doing this to save football at this critical time. “
“The audience is declining and the rights are declining and something had to be done. We are all ruined. Television needs to change so that we can adapt,” he continued.
“Young people are no longer interested in football. Why not? Because there are a lot of poor quality games and they are not interested, they have other platforms on which to have fun,” Perez said.
Perez did not provide evidence that younger football fans have moved away from sports due to lack of interest or declining TV viewing figures.
His comments come shortly after it was announced that 12 of the richest football teams in Europe, including Real Madrid, have signed up as founding members of ESL. The project was funded by a $ 6 billion debt from JPMorgan.
ESL is designed to compete with the UEFA Champions League, Europe’s largest annual club competition and is set to start “as soon as possible”.
Teams that have agreed to play in ESL:
- England: Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal.
- Spain: Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
- Italy: Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan.
ESL will eventually comprise 20 clubs and 15 of them will be permanent, which means they cannot be demoted. This is controversial, as teams now have to qualify for the Champions League every year and can be promoted and relegated from the English Premier League, the Spanish League and Serie A in Italy.
The move has sparked outrage among lawmakers, governing bodies, former players, fans, managers and experts, with many concerned about the ramifications of the internal competition structure.
This is because the current “pyramid” system allows teams to rise and fall from their respective leagues on merit. The 14 Premier League clubs that do not participate in ESL are expected to discuss their answer to this question on Tuesday.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has condemned the ESL project, describing the move as “a spit in the face” to all football fans. “We will not allow them to take it from us,” he added.
‘Fundamental principles’
In 2018, the Premier League reported a significant drop in the money raised from the sale of broadcasting rights to football matches in the UK
BT and Sky have offered £ 4.4 billion ($ 6.1 billion) to televise the lion’s share of 200 games for each season between 2019 and 2022. That figure has dropped from £ 5.1 billion in 2015.
In a joint statement on Sunday, the 12 teams intending to join ESL said: “The formation of the Super League comes at a time when the global pandemic has accelerated instability in the existing European economic model in football.”
“The pandemic has shown that a strategic vision and a sustainable business approach are needed to increase value and support for the benefit of the entire European football pyramid,” they added.
Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino shoots while under pressure from Eder Militao of Real Madrid during the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid at Anfield on 14 April 2021 in Liverpool, England .
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Organizers claim that ESL will generate more money than the UEFA Champions League competition and will result in a greater distribution of revenue across the sport.
FIFA’s world governing body has sharply criticized the proposal and called for further talks with those involved.
“In our view and in accordance with our statutes, any football competition, be it national, regional or global, should always reflect the basic principles of solidarity, inclusion, integrity and fair financial distribution,” FIFA said on Monday.
“Furthermore, football’s governing bodies should use all legal, sporting and diplomatic means to ensure that this remains the case,” they added.
– CNBC Sam Shead contributed to this report.