Real Madrid president Florentino Perez says the club will not be able to afford to sign Kylian Mbappe or Erling Haaland this summer.
Perez was recently appointed as the head of the Super League, a breakaway competition which 12 of Europe’s biggest team had signed up.
However, the project is in tatters after a furious backlash from football fans led to the withdrawal of numerous participants on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Perez was reportedly one of the main architects of the project, which would have seen Madrid trade the Champions League for a new competition.
Despite considerable evidence to the contrary, the Spaniard continues to insist the Super League is not dead.
And while Perez claims he was only acting in the interest of the wider football world, he has admitted that Madrid’s finances will be adversely affected if the tournament does not go ahead.
The La Liga giants have been linked with moves for Mbappe and Haaland in recent months, but Perez concedes Madrid will have to revise their recruitment plans.
“In general, there will not be big transfers this summer," he told El Larguero. "When money does not flow from the rich clubs to the poor clubs, everyone suffers.
"It's impossible to make signings like Mbappe and Haaland, in general, not just for Real Madrid, without the Super League.
“If we don't sign Mbappe this summer, I don't think any fan will shoot himself in the head. They know we're doing our best, and if things don't happen, it's because they're impossible.”
Perez also discussed the future of Sergio Ramos, whose contract at the Santiago Bernabeu expires in just over two months.
The Madrid president described the Spain international as “like a son” but he admitted the club could be forced to cut costs in the summer.
“It depends on Real Madrid's situation," he said when asked if Ramos was likely to sign a new deal.
"This year we're bringing in €300 million less. We need to sell a player, do things.
"I've done what I can up to now and I haven't done it badly. Despite a few people saying I don't know about football.
“ I know what it's like to come into a club in 2000 where people hadn't been paid. I put up everything I could and changed the world with the Galacticos and went from losing €30 or 40 million a year to bringing that in."
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