Slovenian president Aleksandar Ceferin said Thursday he was tired of talking about the separatist European Super League, accusing the chiefs of the three clubs committed to it of living in an “other world”, while La Liga president Javier Tebas said they were “lying”. More than Vladimir Yutin,” the Russian president.
Twelve elite European clubs signed the proposal last April, but he died before he was born after a violent reaction from their players and fans, as well as governments and football bodies.
Nine clubs withdrew from the project, but the two giants of Spain, Real Madrid and Barcelona, in addition to the Italian Juventus, are still clinging to the idea, while press reports warned that it will return to it this week.
“I’m sick and tired” of talking about the Super League, Ceferin said in a speech at the Financial Times Business Football Summit in London via video link.
“Look, at first they started this nonsense in the midst of a global pandemic. Now we read daily reports that they are preparing to launch another idea in the midst of the war (on Ukraine). They definitely live in another world.”
“At a time when we rescue players, along with other stakeholders, and are working to help in appalling conditions, they are working on such a project…This is nonsense and everyone knows that except for them,” he said from the Confederation’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
Ceferin targeted Juventus president Andrea Agnelli, the former president of the European Club Association, who was one of the strongest promoters of the idea of the Super League, along with Florentino Perez, president of Real Madrid.
“It is interesting that they criticize UEFA and the European Club Association. One of them was the president of the latter and I have a quote in which he praised the system a week before they launched the Super League for the first time,” the Slovenian said.
“The fans are not important to them because the fans have launched a petition against the Super League and they don’t care about it,” he added.
Ceferin, 54, considered that clubs are free to organize their own tournaments, but they will be excluded from “Wifa” competitions such as the European Champions League. He also rejected comparisons between the new reforms in the prestigious continental competition that enters into force in 2024 and the Super League.
Barcelona was eliminated from the group stage of the Champions League for the first time since the 2000-2001 season, while Juventus and Real Madrid failed to win the first leg of the final price round this season (the Italian team tied with Villarreal in Spain, while the royal lost against Paris Saint-Germain in France).
The three clubs are feeling the economic pressure to try to compete with the likes of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, who are backed by the UAE and Qatar respectively, while the Premier League clubs have a significant advantage over their European rivals thanks to the revenue from TV rights.
For his part, Tebas said, “Every time I hear the words of the three Super League clubs, they do nothing but lie. They lie more than Vladimir Putin. We have to be stupid to believe what they say.”
“They are three outcasts who say their project will not affect the rest of (teams), but I am offended. They will do a lot of damage to football.”