“No Court Could Force the Football World”- UEFA President On Florentino Perez’s European Super League

UEFA suffered a minor setback last year with the European Court of Justice ruling in A22’s favor for the European Super League case. According to the court’s ruling, no soccer authority had a monopoly on stopping teams from joining the ESL. However, it seems like despite the setback, UEFA is not ready to back down from their stance. President Aleksander Ceferin went all in on Florentino Perez and the breakaway league during an interview, calling ESL a silly competition.

Contrary to A22’s expectations, multiple European elites have washed their hands when it comes to the tournament. Clubs such as Manchester United, Bayern Munich, PSG, Manchester City, and Liverpool, amongst others, have already issued public statements. Notably, they stand behind UEFA in their effort to protect European football from any break-away ideology.

UEFA boss rips into Florentino Perez and the European Super League

Aleksander Ceferin is done with the European Super League drama, with him holding the reins. During his interview with the Telegraph, the UEFA president ripped into Perez, stating, “The press release was misleading. There’s nowhere in the decision of the court that we abused our monopoly. That’s one thing that’s very important and we complained to the court because of that, but you can’t change the first effect. What is most important for me is that all the football community rejected this.”

He then continued to take shots at Perez for the European Super League, adding, “No court could force the football world to play this silly competition. No-one. I still insist that this would never happen because it would ruin football. And we will not allow it. Nobody will allow it from football. You cannot buy football. It’s an insult for football to even speak too much about it.”

Perez, alongside Barcelona president Joan Laporta, has been the flag-bearer of the ESL, with the two Spanish heavyweights standing behind the idea since its introduction. However, their adamant nature on the matter has not sat well with a section of fans who believe the league is not suitable for the future of the sport.

READ MORE: What Does Ruling In Favor of the European Super League Means For Manchester United, Barcelona, Real Madrid & Other Euro Giants?

European elites reject ESL!

While Barcelona and Real Madrid might be enthusiastic about the European Super League, several clubs took a step back from the project. Multiple clubs have already pulled out, with top teams from the Premier League, Bundesliga, and even La Liga standing alongside UEFA to boycott the tournament.

PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi went a step ahead in his press conference as he targeted the people involved in the project, holding them responsible for trying to disrupt European soccer. Despite rejection from multiple big names, it seems like ESL is hellbent on kick-starting the league in the coming years. However, it will be interesting to see if the tournament can provide fans with the promised quality in the absence of multiple European heavyweights.

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