Alex Trelinski
LA LIGA president, Javier Tebas, has attacked the 12 founding members of a breakaway European Super League that includes three Spanish clubs.
Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid have signed up to the new rebel competition, which also features six English Premier League clubs and three from Italy’s Serie A.
Tebas tweeted: “Finally the ‘gurus’ of the PowerPoint Super League are exiting the darkness of the bar at 5AM, intoxicated with selfishness and a lack of solidarity,”
Spain’s Sports Minister, Jose Manuel Rodriguez Uribes, said today(April 19)that any changes to football leagues should be made by agreement.
“Any changes should respect sporting values and not damage existing Spanish leagues or the national squad, he added.
Rebel league matches would be played midweek with the group claiming that ‘another three clubs’ will be joining them in a tournament that would ‘start as soon as possible’.
It would replace their participation in the UEFA Champions League, but since it is a non-sanctioned competition, all of the clubs face being thrown out of their country’s national leagues and players barred from playing for their countries.
The Super League president has been named as the current president of Real Madrid, Florentino Perez.
A La Liga statement said: “The newly proposed top European competition is nothing more than a selfish, egotistical proposal designed to further enrich the already super rich.”
“It will undermine the appeal of the whole game and have a deeply damaging impact on the immediate and future of La Liga, its member clubs, and all the entire footballing ecosystem.”
“The breakaway league threatens the rest of Spanish sports to which, in the current season, La Liga will contribute more than €126 million as part of its agreement with the Spanish government and the Spanish FA.
“This destruction of the European football ecosystem will also ultimately cause the failure of this new competition and its participating clubs, which have built their success based on the achievement of sports titles and triumphs, which will now be more limited.”
“We use all measures at our disposal and work with all stakeholders to defend the integrity and future of Spanish football in the best interests of the game.”
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