'Real Madrid came to DESTROY football!' - La Liga president Javier Tebas calls out Spanish champions for 'circus' European Super League plans

The La Liga chief did not mince his words while launching a scathing attack on Madrid president Florentino Perez, who spearheaded the idea of creating the European Super League in 2021. Tebas described the idea as financially unviable and labelled the ESL a "circus".

Speaking to El Pais, Tebas said: "The first thing is to make it very clear who is behind it, which it seems that they never want to say: it is Florentino Perez. We have to show our faces. The second thing, it is not serious that we have three formats in three years. We cannot be talking about saving football, as president Perez said, and doing this. It is also very unserious to present a format that does not talk about governance. Or the television model: one day everything is free, another day it’s hybrid, another day I don’t know what it’s like. This looks like a circus.

"It is very serious. If it were viable, which is not viable. That hurts because imagine: during the week, free football. And at the weekend, the national league, paid football? Do you think that free football for all would be viable in Spain? Isn’t it? I’m sure it does devastating damage. More than saving football, that mission that it seems Real Madrid came to destroy it."

The ESL saga began in April 2021 when 12 prominent football clubs, including Premier League giants Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham, announced their plans to form a breakaway league. The announcement sparked widespread outrage among fans and government officials, leading to the collapse of the plan within just 72 hours. Since then, ten of the 12 clubs that initially backed the controversial project have withdrawn, issued apologies, and returned to UEFA's fold. However, Real Madrid and Barcelona remain steadfast in their pursuit of making the league a reality and have insisted that they will “keep working on the execution of the idea”.

Los Blancos, who saw their lead at the top of the La Liga table reduced to one point after a shock defeat at Espanyol, will be next seen in action on Wednesday as they take on Leganes in a Copa del Rey quarter-final clash.