Florentino Perez remains adamant the European Super League must go ahead as "football is severely damaged", with the Real Madrid president suggesting the possibility of the top-four teams from each country featuring in the breakaway competition.
Plans for a Super League to rival UEFA's Champions League were announced on Sunday, with 12 founding members – Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham, Juventus, Inter and Milan.
But after widespread criticism from UEFA, FIFA, clubs, governments, fans and pundits, all six Premier League clubs pulled out, while Atletico, Inter, Milan and Juve followed suit.
Perez – who had been appointed as chairman of the competition – has continued to stress the need for the Super League and he flagged the idea of moving away from an exclusive group of clubs.
"These things get manipulated," Perez told Diario AS, with the full interview to be published on Saturday. "It is not a plan which excludes club and nor is it designed to go against other leagues.
"The Super League project is the best possible solution, and it has been created to help football get out of the crisis. Football is severely damaged because its economy has been ruined and it has to adapt to the new era we are living in. The Super League does not go against domestic competitions and its objective is to ensure that more money is available for all sections of football. The concept is to generate more interest for the games. Nor do I think that the changes which UEFA have made are a real solution to the problem because what has been proposed isn't even an improvement on the current model.
"Also, we cannot wait until 2024. But in any case, we must have done something badly. We are going to try to turn this around and develop more ideas. Maybe the solution is for the top four teams in every league to play. I don't know, but something needs to be done because today's youth, those between 14 and 24 years of age, are abandoning football because they see it as being boring compared to the other forms of entertainment which they prefer.
"There are four billion football fans all over the world and half of them are fans of the clubs in the Super League. Football is the only global sport."
Perez added: "Lets look at the data: a recent report by KPMG - in the first three months of the pandemic alone last season, the 12 clubs in the Super League reported losses of 650 million euros.
"By the end of this season, with the pandemic still ongoing, the losses will be between 2,000 and 2,500 million euros. Girondins [Bordeaux] have recently gone into administration. Either we do something soon or many more clubs will go under."
Ancelotti urges Kroos to reverse retirement decision after Champions League glory
Toni Kroos is set to leave Real Madrid as a six-time Champions League winner but Carlo Ancelotti wants the Los Blancos midfielder to reverse his retirement decision.
The Germany midfielder appears to have played the final club game of his career, signing off with European glory after a 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund in Saturday's final.
Kroos delivered a perfect corner-kick assist for Dani Carvajal's 74th-minute opener at Wembley Stadium before Vinicius Junior sealed Madrid's 15th crown in UEFA's top club competition.
The 34-year-old Kroos will head to Euro 2024 with Germany this month before calling time on his glittering career, though Ancelotti hopes he will change his mind.
"I'm really grateful to Kroos," Ancelotti said. "He finished at the very top, there is no way to finish higher than this.
"He had the boldness to finish it [his career] and he is a legend at this club.
"All the fans are grateful to him for his attitude, his professionalism. I've told him we are waiting for him to change his mind – we are waiting for you."
It was the sixth winning campaign for Madrid quadruple Kroos, Luka Modric, Dani Carvajal and Nacho in the Champions League.
Only Paco Gento (six) has won the European Cup/Champions League as many times among players in history.
This success will be further boosted by the expected arrival of Kylian Mbappe, who is reportedly set to join Madrid after announcing his intentions to leave Paris Saint-Germain.
Ancelotti says Los Blancos will look to new arrivals, as well as the current crop of Madrid stars, to combat Kroos' retirement.
"We have lost an important player, but we have players who can replace him and we will adapt and play a slightly different way," Ancelotti said.
"We have fantastic players and the resources to remain competitive."
Kroos' Germany face Ukraine and Greece in warm-up fixtures before opening their Euro 2024 campaign against Scotland on June 14.
Alba calls for Miami battle as MLS star Messi heads to Copa America defence
Lionel Messi heads off to Copa America with Argentina after starring once again in MLS, with Jordi Alba calling on Inter Miami to battle in the forward's absence.
Former Barcelona forward Messi made MLS history on Sunday, reaching 25 goal contributions in just 12 appearances this term to shatter the previous fastest record held by Carlos Vela (16 in 2019).
Messi was on target in the 3-3 draw with St. Louis City, while Alba – who assisted Miami's first two goals – salvaged a point at Chase Stadium with a late leveller in a thrilling contest.
Yet Gerardo Martino will not have Messi to call upon for the foreseeable future, as the legendary attacker prepares for Argentina's Copa title defence.
"Knowing the player that he is for us, it's hard, but the team will continue to compete as much as possible, and that will be noticed," Alba said of Messi's absence.
"It's an important absence for us, but we hope he does well in Copa America, we hope he has a great tournament and joins us again when it's time.
"If that's after the final, well – but in the meantime, the team will continue to fight and play."
The 2024 Copa runs from June 20 to July 14, with Inter also potentially losing players to the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris at the end of next month.
Martino remains aware of the availability issues that could follow for the Eastern Conference leaders, though Messi leaves with Miami's well wishes.
"In today's game, Leo was practically responsible next to Jordi for the participation of the attack," the Miami head coach said.
"He was involved creating chances, he insisted throughout the game. He finished the game well – and now will do what has corresponded to him his whole life, which is play for Argentina."
Argentina face Ecuador and Guatemala in warm-up fixtures before opening their Copa defence against Canada on June 21.
Inter Miami 3-3 St. Louis City: Alba stars as Messi makes history in MLS draw
Lionel Messi achieved an unprecedented MLS feat on Sunday but his heroics, and a star Jordi Alba performance, could not drag Inter Miami past St. Louis City in a thrilling 3-3 draw.
The Argentina and Barcelona great levelled proceedings after Chris Durkin's early opener, taking Messi to 25 goal contributions this term in just 12 MLS appearances – shattering the previous record by Carlos Vela.
Indiana Vassilev edged the visitors back ahead before Luis Suarez restored parity on the stroke of half-time at Miami's Chase Stadium.
Gerardo Martino's side fell behind again after Suarez turned into his own net but Alba, who assisted Miami's first two goals, saved the day with an 85th-minute equaliser to salvage a point.
The draw left Miami top of the Eastern Conference by two points but second-placed FC Cincinnati have two games in hand over Martino's star-studded line-up.
Meanwhile, St. Louis remain 11th in the Western Conference but just three points adrift of ninth-placed Portland Timbers having played two games fewer.
Data Debrief: Messi history in MLS
Having shattered records across historic spells with Barcelona and Argentina, Messi now has another MLS achievement on his sparkling resume.
Messi became the fastest player to 25 goal contributions in an MLS season, recording 12 goals and 13 assists to surpass the previous record established by Vela in 2019 (16 games, four more than Messi).
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