Real Madrid President Florentino Perez has come out for the second time in a public interview to address his thoughts on why the proposed European Super League had broken down in less than 48 hours after its announcement.
In an exclusive interview to El Larguero, Perez claimed that there were lies were spread across the football community regarding the Super League and that the Premier League clubs withdrew due to much pressure from UEFA and FIFA.
PEREZ DISAPPOINTED BY THE BREAKDOWN
The President has said that he was very disappointed and sad due to the suspension of the Super League and that people were not did not fully understand the proposal made by the Twelve clubs. He added that they were working on the Super League for three years to fight the economic conditions that the clubs are going through and that they were working together till 01:00 AM last night.
Florentino Perez to El Larguero: “I’m really sad and disappointed. Maybe we didn't explain the Super League project properly…”. ⚪️🚨 #SuperLeague
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 21, 2021
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TOO OLD
Perez went on to say that the Domestic leagues were never under any risk but the Champions League had become too old and its format had become outdated, with the tournament only becomes exciting from the knockout stages.
He also added that the new format proposed by UEFA has no meaning to it and many cannot understand it properly and that a newer competition was needed to improve the competitiveness along with producing money to recover the combined losses of around €650m that the twelve clubs had lost last season.
🎙️| Florentino Perez: "That new #UCL format in 2024 has no meaning. No one can understand it." #rmalive
— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) April 21, 2021
ON STAND BY
The Super League, scheduled to begin this August, is now on stand-by, confirmed by Perez. He added that while only Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and AC Milan are left, all the twelve clubs have signed a ‘binding contract’ and the remaining four will not file any lawsuits on the Premier League clubs as they believe them to be ‘serious’ people with whom solutions can be found.
Florentino Perez to El Larguero: “The #SuperLeague is not dead, we’ll continue working on this project. Now it’s on stand-by”. 🚨
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 21, 2021
NO BIG DEALS IN THE SUMMER
Perez claimed that there will be no big signings in the summer for any club due to the precarious financial situation in the world and if the money that was expected to generated with the help of the Super League does not flow, broadcasting deals are going to decrease and that it will be difficult to sell players for any club.
He went to say that signing either Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe would be impossible without the Super League.
Florentino Perez to El Larguero: “It's impossible to make signings like Mbappé and Haaland – in general, not for Real Madrid – without the #SuperLeague”. 🚨⚪️
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 21, 2021
SQUAD UPDATES
Perez confirmed that Croatian midfielder Luka Modric had extended his contract with Los Blancos while they are still working on the renewals of defenders Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane.
Florentino Perez confirms: “Luka Modric has extended his contract with Real Madrid”. 🚨⚪️ #Real https://t.co/RR5K9F1pJp
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 21, 2021
Florentino Perez to El Larguero: “Ramos renewal? We will see. We're closing the season and we are asking our players to make a big effort. Of course I want him to stay. His future depends on the club situation, it’s not only about Sergio”. ⚪️🚨 #RealMadrid
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 21, 2021
He said that players who do not want to stay at the Bernabeu can leave and that further contract extensions will take place after considering the financial conditions.
Florentino Perez: “Varane? I’m happy of our team… if players don't want to stay at Madrid they can leave”. There’s still no agreement between Raphael Varane and Real Madrid about the new contract – current one is expiring in June 2022. 🚨⚪️ #Real
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 21, 2021
Perez went on to say that a present Real Madrid side cannot be visualized without Zinedine Zidane as its manager and that the rumours of him getting sacked after the loss against Shaktar in the Champions League Group Stage were false.
Florentino Perez: “I can’t imagine Real Madrid without Zinedine Zidane as a manager. And no, it’s not true that I was ready to sack him after our match again Shakhtar in UCL group stage”. ⚪️🚨 #Real
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 21, 2021
Adding to the Mbappe situation, Perez stated that the club will try its level best to sign the French superstar and if it does not happen then it will be due to the situations making the things impossible.
Florentino Perez: “If we don't sign Mbappé this summer, I don't think any fan will shoot himself in the head. They know we're doing our best, and if things don't happen, it's because they're impossible”. 🚨⚪️ #Real #PSG
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 21, 2021
PEREZ LASHES ON CEFERIN
In the interview, Perez, from the beginning, had voiced his disapproval over the words of UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, saying that Ceferin had been too aggressive with his statements in the media and should also explain to the world about the alleged offer made by UEFA towards the Premier League clubs.
🎙️| Florentino Perez: "Some league presidents and the president of UEFA were incredibly agressive. I've never seen anything like it. It was orchestrated." #rmalive
— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) April 21, 2021
Finally, when asked about the report by El Chiringuito, which stated the UEFA President saying that there is a small chance of Real Madrid being barred from the semi-finals of the Champions League, Perez said that they had done nothing wrong and it is threat from the UEFA President.
🎙️| Florentino Perez: "We did not do anything wrong in order to not be allowed to play the #UCL semifinal." #rmalive
— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) April 21, 2021