'Our sport is wounded' - Real Madrid chief sends UEFA jibe in new European Super League meltdown

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has said he is feels more optimistic than ever about the prospect of a European Super League, while he also took aim at FIFA, UEFA and the new format of the Champions League.

In 2021, 12 of Europe's top clubs, including the Premier League 's Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United, attempted to break away and launch a new Super League that threatened to undo football's structures and economics. Real Madrid, Juventus, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan and AC Milan were the other founding members.

However, after significant backlash, Chelsea were the first to release a statement confirming their withdrawal. The rest of the clubs followed suit, apart from Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus.

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In the years that followed, Perez continued to advocate for the plans, and speaking at the Real Madrid assembly on Sunday, he reiterated his stance on the Super League.

"Today I am more optimistic than ever," he said, as reported by Relevo. "Breaking the monopoly on football has required a titanic effort, with pressures that would have brought down anyone, but not us.

"Real Madrid has once again honoured its history by fighting against UEFA and FIFA, just as Santiago Bernabeu did. We can feel proud. Now it is up to us to put the courts' ruling into practice.

"Our sport is wounded. In France, there has been an absolute disaster: Ligue 1 was worth 1 billion euros and today earns less than 500 million. And it is the only league, along with Spain, in which the CVC fund participates.

"Last season, Real Madrid earned the same amount of money from audiovisual rights as it did 10 years ago. Spanish clubs are in crisis. We will continue to work against everything we consider harmful. European competitions do not show a better panorama than the leagues."

One of the key things Perez criticised during his speech was the reformatted Champions League. A new structure was introduced this season. where 36 teams from across the continent compete in a league format ahead of a knock-out stage later in the campaign.

While the format has similarities to the proposed Super League from three years ago, it is not a closed shop and qualification is dependent on success in domestic leagues, as has always been the case in UEFA competition.

"The format of the new Champions League is unfair and nobody understands it," the Real Madrid president continued. "The competition will only arouse the passion of fans at the end of the season and not from the beginning, as before.

"The overload of matches is taking its toll on the health of the players, something directly related to an alarming increase in injuries. UEFA and FIFA have added 14 matches.

"The consequence? We have already had a total of 22 physical mishaps and in the League there are nine cruciate ligament tears. Bellingham, at 21 years old, has played 251 games. At his age, Beckham had played 54."