Barcelona president Joan Laporta maintained his assist for the Super League on Thursday regardless of the short exit of 10 of the 12 founding golf equipment within the breakaway competitors.
The Super League, which provoked a backlash by different golf equipment, followers and authorities round Europe, was introduced by a dozen high golf equipment in England, Spain and Italy on Sunday, nevertheless it shortly collapsed and is now formally backed solely by Barcelona and Real Madrid.
“It is absolutely necessary,” Laporta mentioned on Catalan public tv in his first public feedback on the challenge.
“The biggest clubs create the most financial resources and we must have our say in deciding how the earnings are shared.”
The six English golf equipment concerned within the competitors pulled out Tuesday amid escalating backlash from their supporters and warnings from the British authorities.
A day later, Spanish membership Atlético Madrid and the three Italian groups within the challenge — Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan — additionally opted out.
Despite being left almost alone, Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez — the competitors’s supposed first chairman — mentioned late Wednesday that the thought was not lifeless, however relatively on standby.
Both Juventus and AC Milan left open the potential for becoming a member of a Super League at a later date of their statements on Wednesday.
Barcelona’s funds have been laborious hit by the pandemic, which has compounded issues in a funds that was already loaded by the best payroll in soccer final season. Laporta’s monetary challenges embrace making an attempt to persuade Lionel Messi to signal a brand new contract when his expires this 12 months.
The 12 elite golf equipment wished to spice up their revenues by slicing UEFA out of the equation and changing the Champions League with the brand new event of 20 groups.
“There have been pressures placed on some clubs, but the proposal is still standing,” Laporta mentioned.
“We have very important investments, our salaries are very high, and those must be taken into consideration, along with sporting merits.”
Barcelona’s participation was conditioned by Laporta’s pledge to let the membership’s members vote on the proposal.
“We are keeping a prudent stance,” Laporta mentioned.
“It is a necessity, but our club members will have the final word.”
Laporta appeared open to tweaking essentially the most controversial a part of the challenge — locking within the 15 founding golf equipment and leaving solely 5 berths open for different groups to hitch every season.
“It has to be an attractive competition, based on merit won on the field,” Laporta mentioned.
“We defend our national leagues and an open dialogue with UEFA.”
While Laporta spoke in Barcelona, the opposite Spanish league golf equipment not concerned within the Super League challenge met by way of videoconference with league president Javier Tebas to kind a standard entrance towards the brand new competitors. Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atlético weren’t invited to the assembly.
“I think that Barcelona has bigger problems than taking on the rest of the clubs in Spain and Europe to defend a Super League that is already dead,” Tebas mentioned.
But Tebas saved his strongest criticism for Real Madrid’s president, credited because the mastermind of the challenge.
“If they say that the Super League will save soccer, they are lying or they are mistaken,” Tebas mentioned.
“Florentino Pérez is lying. It can’t help soccer because it would destroy the national leagues.”