Real Madrid President, Florentino Perez, gave an explosive interview for the first time since the revelations regarding the Super League came out. The Spaniard came out fighting in support of the competition while also revealing some of his club’s transfer plans ahead of next season.
Florentino Perez was named as the Real Madrid President for another term earlier this month. Days later, the Spaniard was also appointed as the Chairman of The Super League – a breakaway competition featuring some of the richest clubs in Europe.
“Why now for the European Super League? The big clubs of England, Spain and Italy have to find a solution to tackle the bad situation that football is experiencing. We’ve come to the conclusion that by replacing the Champions League with the Super League, we’ll be able to alleviate the lost income due to the pandemic.
No one has interest in the Champions League until the quarter-finals. What generates the most interest? Let the greats play. We’re doing our best for the sport. The Champions League has lost its attraction, we have created the Super League to save football.”
he said.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin reiterated plans to ban the clubs and their respective players from several international competitions on April 19. However, Perez has claimed that UEFA does not have the legal right to do so and reassured players that they won’t be stopped from representing their national teams in the future, should they be a part of the Super League.
Furthermore, the Real Madrid President also threw water on the claims that his club could be kicked out of the Champions League this season, along with Chelsea and Manchester City. All three clubs are in the semi-finals of the competition alongside Paris Saint Germain, who rejected a chance to join the new elite competition. Perez, however, claimed that the Parisians, or any German club, haven’t been offered a spot in the new league yet.
Much more than the Super League was on the agenda for this particular Perez interview. The Real Madrid President also spoke regarding the club’s transfer plans for next season and whether we could see a return of Cristiano Ronaldo.
“Cristiano isn’t returning to Madrid, he gave us a lot but his return makes no sense. I love him, but it doesn’t make sense — he is a Juventus player.”
Perez stated
The Spaniard also spoke on two of Madrid’s key transfer targets – Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.
“Haaland’s father visited our museum. It’s crazy, everyone always has the same reaction, they’ve never seen anything like that. I go out with a mask, nobody recognizes me and all the sudden I hear, ‘Presi, sign Mbappé!’, I tell them, ‘be calm’.
It’s good, why lie? Madrid needs a change. We need to evolve. We have won a lot and we must recover the illusion, the desire to compete.”
he added.
Perez also confirmed that the club is currently in a contract lockdown with captain Sergio Ramos. He stated that his club is in a dire financial situation at the moment and that he doesn’t know what will happen to the player’s future. However, he did confirm that Real Madrid might have a new source of revenue starting next season, with their renovated stadium set to be ready by the fall of next year.
