Real’s Perez hopes Super League closes gap with US sports

Real Madrid President Florentino Perez is not giving up hope on the failed European Super League. The Real Madrid President recently claimed that European soccer is falling behind. He said it is “losing the global entertainment battle” with sports in the United States.

Speaking at his club’s annual meeting on Sunday, Perez stated that changes need to happen to keep up interest in the sport. “To fix a problem, you have to first recognize that you have a problem,” said Perez. “Our sport is sick. It’s losing its leadership as a global sport … We mustn’t be confused by the impact of Real Madrid’s European Cup run when we were involved in seven games of the highest intensity and interest.”

“That was the result of the draw, and of the quality and greatness of our team. It was a spectacle that helped bring excitement back to the viewers. That’s why we believe European competitions must change, to offer fans top-level games year-round between the strongest teams, with the best players competing.”

Forbes recently released their rankings of the most valuable leagues and teams throughout the world and U.S. teams dominated the list. Perez noticed this and realized that his club is falling in the rankings. “We were top in all sports, and now we’ve fallen to 13th,” Perez stated. “We’ve been overtaken by 12 clubs from American sports. They must be doing something very well in the United States and very badly in Europe … Football is losing the global entertainment battle against other sports and other platforms.”

🗣️ “It’s very nice that we don’t play the same teams all the time. I have no opinion about that [Pérez comments].

Jürgen Klopp on Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez saying the top teams in Europe need to be playing each other more frequently citing the Super League. pic.twitter.com/9cVzhq0bWR

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) October 3, 2022

Real Madrid in a European Super League

The NFL, NBA, and MLB all outrank the top European soccer leagues in value. The Dallas Cowboys topped the list as they were valued at $8 billion. Real Madrid was the highest-ranked soccer team with a valuation of $5.1 billion.

Perez even referenced tennis to compare the amount of times top players face off against each other. “In tennis, [Rafa] Nadal and [Roger] Federer have played 40 times in 15 years,” continued Perez. “Nadal and [Novak] Djokovic have played 59 matches in 16 years.”

“In football we’ve only played Liverpool nine times in 67 years. We’ve played Chelsea four times in the history of the European Cup. What sense does it make to deprive fans of all these games?”

Real Madrid, along with Barcelona and Juventus, are the only teams still publicly supporting the European Super League. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur all initially agreed to join the league; however, they quickly backed out of the idea due to fan backlash.

Perez and other ESL supporters are waiting for a decision from the European Court of Justice. The courts will decide whether or not UEFA’s attempts to block the formation of the ESL breached the laws. A ruling on the issue is expected to be announced in December.

PHOTO: IMAGO / Revierfoto