‘Proposed Super League project will go bankrupt'

La Liga president Tebas warns breakaway European league wouldn’t be in the long-term interests of clubs

MADRID:

La Liga president Javier Tebas has warned a breakaway European Super League would not be in the long term interests of clubs, a day after Real Madrid chief Florentino Perez spoke of an urgent need to reform current competitions.

“The Super League is a perfect project to go bankrupt, take on the fans and confront the football authorities,” Tebas told website Goal.com on Monday.

“The Super League is unfeasible. Whoever says that this is viable, does not know the football business well.”

Perez said on Sunday the Covid-19 pandemic meant football had to “innovate and look for formulas to ensure football remains attractive,” adding that the current match calendar should be changed to reduce the burden on players.

Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu said in October upon resigning that he had signed Barca up to the proposed Super League in order to keep the club viable after taking a huge financial hit due to the pandemic.

Perez also said the top clubs needed to find ways to come out of the financial crisis caused by the pandemic. However, Tebas said the idea of a Super League, which would not be organised by UEFA, was not popular around the continent, particularly among Premier League club bosses.

“I have contacts with the biggest English clubs and they are against the Super League,” he said.

“They have the best competition and if this Premier League model works, if this Champions League model is working, why do we have to change?

“This would be a risk. We cannot get into a war over this concept. The English are the leading economic soccer powerhouse and they don’t want the Super League.”