Florentino Perez is still pushing hard with the idea of a Super League. The Real Madrid president is the man claiming he wants to 'save football' through the competition as he told El Chiringuito TV last year.
Perez says football clubs have lost over €5bn since the Covid pandemic and the Super League will be the knight in shining armour for club football.
Here's the latest about Perez's big ambition.
Only three clubs involved
Perez is only backed by Barcelona and Juventus for the Super League. Perez has a good relationship with Barca president Joan Laporta who shares his idea.
Juventus’ former president Andrea Agnelli was a staunch supporter of the Super League but he was forced to resign last month over allegations of tax fraud.
During his farewell speech, Agnelli reiterated his belief in the Super League:"I think European football needs a new system, otherwise it risks a decrease in favour of a single dominant league, i.e. the Premier League, marginalising all the others..
"The hope is that the European Court of Justice recognises professional sport as an industry, since the turnover of football is €55 billion. I thank Real Madrid and Barcelona who, together with Juventus, had the courage to face the threats from UEFA," Agnelli added.
It is expected that Juve's new president Gianluca Ferrero will toe the path of his predecessor and keep supporting the Super League.
Big promise to new clubs
Under the surface, Perez and his cronies are working to convince more clubs to join their ambitious project. According to Football Insider, Liverpool were told they will earn double the money they get from participating in the Champions League if they hop back on the Super League bus.
The same offer has been tabled before other big clubs like Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United. These top teams have been told they stand to partake in a windfall of up to €4.5bn per season if they shift their weight behind the Super League.
Regardless of the money being offered, Premier League clubs seem to remain sceptical about the idea. Back in 2021 when six Premier League clubs agreed to join the project, they faced serious backlash from their fans leading to their hurried exit.
Judicial blow
The Super League dragged UEFA to the European Court of Justice claiming that football is being monopolized. Unfortunately, in December, their claim was rejected by the court's advocate general.
The ruling prohibited clubs involved in the Super League from participating in the Champions League if they proceed to form the breakaway competition. FIFA, UEFA and La Liga all celebrated the opinion of the court by releasing statements.
A final ruling on the matter is expected later this year. In the meantime, the Super League have appointed a new chief executive Bernd Reichart whose job is to rehabilitate the competition's image as they hope for the best outcome in court.
Recap of Super League
The Super League, as the name implies, is a money-spinning competition that aims to supersede the Champions League.
According to the organizers, the competition will be made up of 20 top clubs comprised of 15 founders and 5 annual qualifiers. In theory, this means that even when super clubs have poor domestic seasons (for example, Chelsea who are currently 10th in England), they’ll still have access to the best European competition.
"By bringing together the best clubs and best players in the world, the Super League will deliver excitement and drama never before seen in football," a statement from the Super League website reads.
Interestingly, this website is still up and even lists the teams that pulled out as participants — but that’s because it is not being maintained.
Latest news
