The president of FC Barcelona, ??Joan Laporta, assured this Monday that if the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decides that the position of UEFA and FIFA is contrary to European competition rules, the football Super League could be a reality in one or two years.
In an interview with EFE, the top leader of the Catalan club, promoter along with Real Madrid of the Super League, was in favor of maintaining a dialogue with UEFA if the court based in Luxembourg considers that the current European club competitions are going in vain. against EU antitrust laws.
“If this happens, the first thing we have to do is start a period of reflection with UEFA. It has to be done this way. UEFA must have the opportunity to participate in this new competition. The speed of the project will depend on this dialogue, but In one or two years we could have the Super League up and running,” he argued.
These statements by the Barça president come when there are just a few days left before the CJEU announces its verdict. The court will publish this Thursday, December 21, its answers to the preliminary questions raised by a Madrid court, which asked the highest administrative instance of the EU to clarify whether FIFA and UEFA abused a dominant position by blocking with the threat of sanctions the creation of an alternative tournament, the Super League.
For Laporta, if the ruling “ends the monopoly that currently exists” in continental football, the clubs will organize a new “more attractive” competition for fans, all without forgetting the economic injection that it would mean for the teams that participate in it. .
The latter is a relevant question for the president of Barcelona, ??who recalled that the football industry runs the risk of this sport being in the hands of millionaires and states in the coming years. “What is intended is for it to be more sustainable and for more clubs to benefit from the competitions in which they participate. This problem exists and, if it continues along the same path, football will end up in the hands of the state clubs or a few. clubs dominated by private people, millionaires and states. This problem has to be redirected,” he added.
The president of FC Barcelona assured that the board has “total confidence” in its coach, Xavi Hernández, of whom he highlighted “his resistance” and “his protection” towards the players, which speaks “very much in his favor.” Laporta also wanted to emphasize that he is not “a very invasive president” and that “everyone has to know his role.” “The distribution of roles is very important and that everyone assumes theirs. Players have to compete to win; the coach to train to make a competitive team. The president, in charge… If we don’t do it this way, we would be wrong, because in the past it has already happened, that roles have been changed and the players have ended up in charge and we have arrived where we have arrived. Those of us who have taken the reins of the club have suffered the consequences, a disastrous legacy and this is what cannot be.”
Laporta does not rule out the arrival of a midfielder in this winter market: “If we manage to have ‘fair play,’ the idea is to have a midfielder who in some way compensates for Gavi’s loss. It would be a loan until the end of the season, as he does many years we did with Edgar Davids, for example.
We have margin, I think that until the end of the year we can generate ‘fair play’, due to a series of operations that we have underway and if they are confirmed, we would have options.”
He was also optimistic about being able to stay with the Joaos: “The players’ agent (Jorge Mendes), who is the same, and the two clubs (City and Atlético de Madrid), with whom we have a good relationship and know each other a lot, “They have already guided us on where the shots have to go so that the operations are concluded, so that they join Barça. We are interested in them not being on loan, but rather belonging to the squad. Let’s see how it evolves.”
Regarding the goodbye of the women’s first team coach, Jonatan Giráldez, Laporta explained: “Jonan is an extraordinary guy. We had already agreed on the renewal, but he has received one of those offers that cannot be rejected.” “We are very proud of him and Jonan is life. He knows that we have limitations and a sense of logic that we do not want to change so that situations from the past are not repeated. Let’s hope he is happy in the United States,” she concluded. .
