A22, the company promoting the European Super League, had held a meeting with all levels of European football authorities yesterday, including UEFA president Aleksandar Ceferin and La Liga president Javier Tebas.
In attendance also was the chairman of the European Club Association and the Paris Saint-Germain president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who in fact made headlines for his strong reactionary stance against Real Madrid’s Florentino Perez’s argument using tennis legends Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer as examples to illustrate his point.
Last month, Perez had floated the idea of the ESL stating that players such as Nadal, Federer and Novak Djokovic play each other numerous times so that their match-ups are never boring.
Al-Khelaifi, however, issued a strong response to Perez’s poignant example, stating (h/t MARCA):
“There is talk of Nadal and Federer. I have a little experience in tennis as a former player. Let me tell you that Rafael and Roger are two of the best athletes in the history of the sport. This is not because they have played together all the time. It’s because they worked so hard.”
“Every match was important, whatever ranking they were playing against. They never asked for a closed league of top players. They defended the tennis family. Please don’t use their big names to justify failures.” Al Khelaifi added.
The PSG president went on to defend the current framework of European football and stressed the importance of listening to the fans.
“The future of European football must take into account the interests of all stakeholders. All the leagues, all the clubs, the national associations, the fans and all the communities that need our help.
“In particular, we need to think more about the fans. At yesterday’s meeting, the voice of the fan groups was heard loud and clear. They spoke from the heart. Self-interest has no place in football,” he said.
Despite the strong opposition, Real Madrid, along with Barcelona and Juventus continue to push the Super League agenda. Newly-appointed CEO Bernard Reichart even hinted at the 2024/25 season as a possible time for the inauguration of the competition.