The president of Real Madrid, Florentino Perez, launched a strong attack against the Champions League, urging European clubs to abandon the new format of that tournament and join his ambitious project for the future: the Super League.
“The Super League is more necessary than ever. The new format of the Champions League with more matches is unheard of, absurd, and makes no sense. If we don’t react now, soccer will not survive, at least not as we know it.”
Perez stated that the major problem today is that soccer leaders in Europe only think about their economic interests, disregarding the opinions of millions of fans. A clear message for UEFA.
“Soccer is undergoing an unprecedented institutional crisis at all levels, both in Spain and Europe. The situation is very serious. The main problem is that there are administrators who act without considering the fans, and we want to inspire enthusiasm among them.”
Carlo Ancelotti after winning the Champions League with Real Madrid (Getty Images)
What is the Super League?
The Super League is a proposal led by Florentino Perez for a club-level competition that would be presented as an alternative to existing tournaments, such as the Champions League.
The main goal of the Super League is to create a tournament in which elite clubs from Europe participate, regardless of their performance in their respective national leagues. This means, no place for ‘little’ teams to play against powerhouses.
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As a consequence, the Super League has been the subject of controversy and debate in the world. It is expected that participating clubs would include some of the biggest and most successful in Europe, potentially causing a significant impact on the traditional structure of soccer. For example, clubs like Union Berlin or Copenhagen would not have an opportunity as they do now.
Florentino Perez launches another attack against UEFA
Florentino Perez denounced the economic privileges that some UEFA clubs currently enjoy, in contrast to others like Real Madrid. He refuted the notion that the creation of the Super League would impact national leagues and strongly criticized the new format of the Champions League.
“European soccer does not belong to the UEFA president and national soccer does not belong to La Liga’s president (Javier Tebas). That is why the Super League project is more necessary than ever today. The goal is to offer the best competition. It is the clubs that should determine their destiny. There are clubs with unlimited financial resources that violate the rules without being punished, and more and more clubs are losing millions of euros. This situation cannot be sustained over time.”
Florentino Perez says Real Madrid will leave the Champions League (Getty Images)
What will be the new format of the UEFA Champions League?
The biggest change for next season is the abandonment of the group stage in the current format. Right now, the Champions League includes 32 participants divided into eight groups of four.
Starting from the 2024-2025 season, the 36 participating clubs will compete in a league phase to give four additional teams the opportunity to compete against the top clubs in Europe. These 36 teams will participate in a single-league competition where all will compete in a common ranking. No more group stage.
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With the new format, clubs will play eight matches in the new league phase. They will no longer play twice against three opponents (home and away), but instead, they will face eight different teams, playing half of them at home and the other half away.
To determine the eight opponents, teams will initially be divided into four pots by UEFA. Each team will then face two rivals from each of these pots, playing one match against a team from each pot at home and another away.
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The top eight teams will automatically advance to the Round of 16, while teams ranked between 9th and 24th place will compete in a two-legged playoff to secure a spot there. Teams finishing 25th or below will be eliminated without access to the UEFA Europa League. From the Round of 16 onwards, the competition follows the current format of knockout rounds all the way to the final.
Will the Super League replace the Champions League?
On December 21, the European justice system will determine if it allows clubs to manage their future. It all depends on the resolution of fifteen judges from the highest judicial instance.
This is the last chance for Florentino Perez to fulfill his dream. “The future of European soccer depends on fifteen judges from the Grand Chamber in Luxembourg. We trust that principles will be applied to professional soccer, allowing European clubs to decide their destiny without being subject to particular interests. We hope this marks the beginning of a new era.”
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