“Super ridiculous: the project led by Florentino Perez sinks in forty-eight hours. “ The sports journal Marca, Spain’s leading daily, has not been kind to the president of Real Madrid on the front page of its April 21 edition, following the withdrawal of the six English teams from the European Super League project. That this millionaire entrepreneur, at the head of the construction giant ACS, and boss of the Madrid club since 2000 – with the exception of a parenthesis between 2006 and 2009 -, suffers such a setback has fueled hours of programs radio and television stations, and filled the columns of the written press.
“Should Florentino resign after the failure of the Super League? “, asked the political scientists of the radio Onda Cero. “How Florentino sank his reputation in forty-eight hours”, again titled the information site El Confidencial, in an article published on April 25, two days before the crucial Champions League semi-final first leg against Chelsea, which analyzes the incomprehensible communication errors made by Mr Perez.
Because all the media, even the most complacent with the sports leader, are still wondering about the choice to announce the birth of this semi-closed league by a press release sent, in Word format, on the night of Sunday 18 to Monday, April 19, and not by a press conference at the Santiago-Bernabeu stadium at the height of a project which presented itself as capable of revolutionizing football. Or the surprising decision to give his first interview to the television program “El Chiringuito”, in which sports commentators discuss matches and refereeing errors.
“UEFA has no lessons to teach”
According to a survey carried out by the Sigma Dos institute and published on April 24 in the daily El Mundo, for 71% of Spanish supporters, the image of Florentino Perez was damaged by this mishap. However, if 58% of them are opposed to the Super League, among the fans of Real Madrid – club with an aging team, which does not have enough to pay for the big transfers of which it dreams, and whose stadium is in full expansion work – 62.1% are in favor.
“Even if Florentino did not know how to explain his project and he has an elitist side, I am more for the Super League, so that we can see great matches from the month of October, summarizes Alberto Sanchez, unconditional supporter of Real (45 years). In any case, UEFA has no lessons to teach. It’s all about the money, not the purity of the sport. The clubs have no income and the only ones who will be able to recruit are those who have a millionaire who finances them, like PSG… ”
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