Florentino Pérez: “Either we do something soon or many clubs will go bankrupt”

Florentino Pérez (Madrid, 1947) accumulates almost 20 years of experience as president of Real Madrid. He rescued the entity from its serious economic problems when it arrived at the Bernabéu in 2000 and put it on the path of the multinational that it is today with its Galactic project. Now, he is looking for new formulas that take football out of the crisis in which it is plunged and that has aggravated the pandemic. And he strongly defends his ideas …

—You have said that the Super League project is not dead, that it is moving forward. At what point is it? What path are they going to follow?

—The company exists and the partners that make up the Super League, too. What we have done has been to give ourselves a few weeks to reflect on the virulence with which some people who do not want to lose their privileges have manipulated the project.

– Do you regret having launched the Super League in the way it was done?

“No, because even if it had been done one way or another, the reaction of those privileged few would have been the same.” Already in January the UEFA president issued harsh warnings to the Super League. We wanted to discuss the details with UEFA, but they didn't even give time. An orchestrated, manipulated operation was organized, such as I have never known. I've never seen anything like it. We were forced to go to court, which issued a very precautionary statement that says it all. It orders UEFA and FIFA, as well as the national leagues and federations, to refrain from adopting any measure or action, statement or communication that prevents the preparation of the Super League. In my opinion, that ruling ends UEFA's monopoly. But even though it aired on Tuesday, the UEFA president on Wednesday insisted on his threats. These are acts that go against free competition in the European Union, and that is something very serious.

—The main criticisms against the Super League have been that it goes against the national championships and that it seems like a private club that is not reached due to meritocracy. What does that say?

—It is that neither one thing nor the other is true, but everything has been manipulated. It is neither an exclusive plan nor is it against the leagues. The Superliga project is the best possible and has been done to help football come out of the crisis. Football is seriously hurt because its economy is sinking and we have to adapt to the times we live in. The Super League does not go against the domestic championships and aims to get more money to flow for all of football. It has been thought to give more interest to the parties. And I think that the new UEFA reform does not provide a solution to the problem either because what has been presented is not even better than what there is. And besides, we can't wait until 2024. But anyway, we have done something wrong. Let's go around it and confront ideas. Maybe what the first four of each country play is the solution. I don't know, but something has to be done because youth, between the ages of 14 and 24, are abandoning football because it bores them in front of other entertainment that they prefer. There are 4,000 million soccer fans around the world and half of them are fans of Super League clubs. Soccer is the only global sport.

—The economy is so bad for you to say that the situation is very serious, that football is dying?

—Let's go to the data: the KPMG consultancy report, only in the three months of pandemic that affected last season, showed losses of the twelve Superliga clubs for 650 million euros. This year, with the full pandemic season, the losses will go between 2,000 and 2,500 million euros. The Girondins have just gone bankrupt. Either we do something soon or a lot of clubs will go bust.

—Your project proposes a simple solution to get more income: raise the level of the matches in competition and excitement. How can that be done without the modest teams feeling aggrieved?

—The reality is that if there are more interesting and competitive matches, more money will go into football. And that will be for everyone, not just a few, because the national leagues will be worth much more. And we also have important amounts for solidarity, which is a very important pillar of the project.

“Did they have the support of any television?”

—We have been working on this project for three years and we have studied it well. The plan is designed to regain the interest of the fans, and that will bring more money to everyone: large, medium and small clubs.

—The idea is to have more big games, with more competition and emotion.

-Well of course. The key is to recover the interest of the fans, in which there are more matches between Messi and Cristiano. Those of now and those that come later. The Madrid-Barça have stopped the world. Well, all the money that this generates affects all leagues and all clubs.

– Why do you think that Bayern and PSG did not get on the Super League bandwagon?

“For different reasons.” In the case of Bayern, it is in the process of changes in its management and that of PSG, because we were going to tell them later. Because the group of twelve had been working and functioning for many years. But they were both to be invited.

—If the information is good, the twelve of the Super League have not only signed a binding contract, but they cannot abandon the project until 2025 unless they pay hundreds of millions of euros in penalties. It is right?

“I'm not going to explain what a binding contract is now.” But come on, the clubs can't get out. Some, under pressure, have had to say that they are leaving. But this project or another very similar one will go ahead, and I hope soon.

– Has JP Morgan, the bank that finances the Super League project, got off the train?

“That's not true, nor has he.” There has been a time of reflection, like the twelve clubs. If something has to be changed, it will be done, but the Super League is the best project that we have thought that it can be done. What you have to do is recover the fans, the young people. And for that you have to change. If UEFA wants to do it with the project that he said the other day, then honestly I neither understood it nor do I think it is a good solution. In addition, they want to start in 2024, and we will see what teams resist.

– When do you think the Super League will be able to start, if it can?

—You have to do it as quickly as possible, but first you have to explain the project to people in good faith, who have been manipulated by those who had no other objective than to defend their privileges. Maybe they think that this is going to be good for them, but they are wrong.

– There are those who suspect that Real Madrid could be harmed from all this, either in the offices or on the field. What do you think?

—In the democratic Europe we live in, no one can think of that.

-What do you find more worrying: that the twelve founding clubs of the Superliga are going to have estimated losses due to the pandemic of about two billion euros (among all of them) or that almost half of the young people between 14 and 24 years old lose interest in football?

“Both things are just as troubling.” That is why solutions must be sought. That is what the Super League was designed for.

– The solution for the future of football is the search for more income? Have you not considered an adjustment in spending, salary caps …? And if in a few years one billion is needed to sign the Mbappé on duty, for 300 of transfer and paying him a salary of 60, where will they come from?

—To begin with, there is nothing without income. Then you have to do a stable competition, with a Financial Fair Play strict, that it works, and that it allows to compete as equals, not like now when competing against state-clubs. Real Madrid, for example, has only three sources of income: box office, television and sponsors. And now I am even more concerned, because the UEFA president just told his Congress this week: “We have to free up investments and protect the people who financially support their clubs because of their passion for football and love. to your local community … “. They will tell me how Madrid, which is a club of its members, can compete against a club-state.

—You defend that the economic viability of football passes through the Super League, through a competition that promotes competitiveness. But Madrid is doing a monumental reform of the stadium, Atlético has released one … Anyway, how do you explain this to the fans? Isn't it contradictory?

—Both works began before the pandemic came, and nobody knew it was going to come. But, in addition, Atlético reached a good agreement with the City Council. And Real Madrid has financed the reform of the Santiago Bernabéu for thirty years with spectacular conditions. The Compromisarios approved it because the stadium work will generate annual revenues of between 150 and 200 million. Which will be very profitable.

– What suggests to you that three of the four semi-finalists of the Champions League (Manchester City, Chelsea and PSG) have been investigated by UEFA for failing to comply with the Financial Fair Play?

“I don't want to judge anyone.” But I do tell you that we are concerned. But not because of what happened, even more so because of what may come. Because we have already seen what the UEFA president has said. If now the clubs-states or those of wealthy owners can come to inject money without limits, it will be difficult to compete on equal terms. This requires transparency and knowing where the income of the clubs comes from.

—Have you been surprised by the reaction of Ceferin and Thebes, singularly, against this project? Why do you think it is and why do you think it was an orchestrated maneuver?

—The president of UEFA has had a very unhealthy behavior, especially since the presidency of an institution that defends football and its values. Everything that has happened has been regrettable, with insults and threats. We have been surprised by their violence. All the ideas that I am developing in this interview I can explain to you personally.

—According to some information, it was Laporta who warned Tebas at a meal that the presentation of the Super League was imminent. And it was Thebes who warned Ceferin, who was thus able to organize his offensive. Do you know that it was so?

“I honestly don't think so.” Laporta knows that the Super League is the best solution because he recovers his passion for football and, consequently, his income. The economic situation will give no truce to anyone.

—How long would you say that clubs can resist without a reform of the Champions League, call it Super League or otherwise?

—Very little, and also the teams will have to sell their best players and each time everyone will be less interested. The pandemic is not only what we have already suffered, but what it will leave in economic consequences.

But if UEFA has a monopoly on football in Europe, why is it going to let it go?

—Because community law prohibits monopoly. And there is a car from a judge that clearly tells you.

– Could this whole mess with UEFA be solved if the clubs participated directly in the negotiations with the television operators?

“That is what we intend to do.” This is reflected in the binding agreement of the Super League. The twelve of us agree, and also others who seem to be against the project, but who at the same time play the Euroleague basketball … Now we have to make an effort and explain the project to people, which is false that it is excluding. We want to do the same thing that was done in basketball with the Euroleague. But whenever there is a change, even a positive change, it produces a rejection. The same thing happened when national leagues were born at a time when only regional leagues were played, and of course when the European Cup was born in 1955. But times change and people and the world evolve, and you have to adapt accordingly. obligation. Not only is it necessary, it is also convenient. I am not going to tell UEFA what to do, but I think it must change, because it is necessary to have more intense and competitive competitions.

– Whether big signings can be made depends on the Super League going forward? If not, will we see each year how the state-clubs go to more and the rest to less?

—It is important that everything is transparent and that the origin of the funds is seen. That, for example, sponsorships are what they are and not what they seem. And if everything improves, then it will be good for everyone. In the group of twelve there are also clubs with millionaire owners who have understood it.

– With that panorama, could Madrid retain Vinicius or Barça Pedri, or would they end up leaving, as for example has happened with Ferran Torres?

—The problem will no longer be to be able to sign, but to keep the squads. Let's see if any of them are forced to sell their best players! Footballers could end up in teams with unlimited resources, beyond the three sources of income that I have already discussed.

—This Thursday, Tebas brought together all the clubs except Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atlético. Did your ears ring?

-That's not important. What I have to say is that the greatest resources for LaLiga are provided by Real Madrid, Barça and Atlético de Madrid. This is the truth. Going against the one that gives you the most does not seem the most normal thing, but since there are historical privileges acquired, then people get confused.

– What time is given to move forward or to abort the Super League: the four years ahead as president of Madrid, for example?

“As soon as possible, we have to do it before the train catches us.” We cannot last four years, because if this continues like this, I already say that the KPMG report for all clubs is going to be devastating for football.

—In Italy they have just renewed 300 million TV rights downwards. It's a warning?

—The same will happen in Spain and also in England. The next contracts will go down unless we remedy them by improving the interest and competitiveness of the parties. Otherwise, young people will go to other platforms that entertain them more and that work every day to give them what they are looking for and attract them as new customers. The result will be that there will be less and less audience.

– Definitely, the reform proposal of the Champions that UEFA has made for 2024 does not convince him.

“Well, honestly, no.” Neither the format, which nobody understands, nor the deadline, because in the year 2024 … either we remedy before or all the clubs are ruined. Here there will be an uprising of the teams as they go bankrupt, because only those who are from a state or a multimillionaire owner and who, for entertainment, are willing to lose hundreds of millions each season will endure.