Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez believes football is “sick” and claimed that reviving the European Super League project would be a way to restore its health.
The Spanish giants were one of a dozen clubs in April last year to sign up for a proposed breakaway league, which collapsed following backlash from supporters once the idea became public.
While the six English teams withdrew, Real, along with Barcelona and Juventus, refused to quit the ESL, which Perez reiterated his support for at his club’s annual general meeting on Sunday.
“To fix a problem, you first have to recognize that you have a problem,” Pérez added. “Our beloved sport is sick. It is losing its leadership as a world sport.
“We should not be confused with the impact of Real Madrid’s (Champions League) run (last season) when we were involved in seven matches of the highest intensity and interest.
“This is why we believe European competitions need to change, to offer fans year-round top-tier matches between the strongest teams, with the best players competing.
“The Super League format will never be an obstacle that stops a constructive and free dialogue to address the very serious problems of European football. Problems that we must solve urgently.”
Pérez believes it is “astonishing” that Real and Liverpool, two of Europe’s most successful teams domestically and internationally, have met just nine times in 67 years of European competition.
He added: “(In men’s tennis, Rafael) Nadal and (Roger) Federer met 40 times in 15 years. So far, Nadal and (Novak) Djokovic have met 59 times in 16 years.
“Is this boring? These historic clashes have made tennis grow as a whole.
“In football the numbers are staggering. It turns out that we have faced Liverpool, a historic team with six European Cups, only nine times in 67 years. And only three times in Madrid”.
