Real Madrid president proposes abandoning La Liga in favour of a super league
Florentino Perez has a hatched a plan to pull Real Madrid out of La Liga and create a European super league.
Real Madrid's club president recently met with FIFA president Gianni Infantino and club chiefs from across the continent, according to the New York Times.
Perez is understood to have outlined his proposals for an elite league competition for Europe's top clubs.
The ambitious and controversial move is strategically timed as football's governing bodies prepare to structure and schedule the game's future from 2024 onwards.
Perez has reportedly already been whipping up financial backing for his project and hopes a club of Real Madrid's clout can drive his blueprint into reality.
The current proposal would see the formation of two 20-team leagues comprised of teams exclusively from England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France.
Relegation and promotion would exist, but only between the two aforementioned leagues.
The proposal is reportedly set to meet stern opposition as it would devalue domestic competition to a potentially detrimental degree.
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It would also all but destroy the Champions League - UEFA's most lucrative and prestigious competition.
In a bid to get the backing required, some clubs have been informed by Perez and his team that they could as much as double their revenue.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has slammed Perez's idea as "insane".
UEFA president Ceferin condemns Real Madrid plan for a new world league as "insane" - "It would be hard to think of a more selfish and egotistical scheme"— Martyn Ziegler (@martynziegler) December 6, 2019
Meanwhile, it's reported that FIFA boss Infantino has his own proposal for a 24-team Club World Cup that he is prioritising.
Last week, Infantino also proposed a pan-African league that would help harbour talent in the continent, instead of it simply feeding Europe.
FIFA commented on the resistance to Perez and Infantino working so closely together with a statement.
“One of the FIFA president’s duties is to listen to stakeholders’ perspectives about relevant topics for football,” FIFA said.
“FIFA believes that an open and constructive dialogue between different members of the football community is essential to find the right balance and the best solutions for the future of the game.
“FIFA (including the president) has met with football clubs from around the world in order to discuss how to make the new FIFA Club World Cup an outstanding success, in particular, from a sporting point of view.”
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