Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez has lost his grip on Barcelona president Joan Laporta, a key reason for the Catalan president’s decision to abandon the European Super League idea and return to UEFA, according to Sport.
Over the past two decades, Pérez and Laporta have had a strong relationship built on mutual respect. There was always a sense that the Barça president feared the Real Madrid president’s considerable influence both inside and outside Spain. Together, they pledged to pursue the European Super League project and challenge almost all of Europe.
Laporta ultimately decided to withdraw from the project and return to UEFA, to the great acclaim of Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who said that what happened was a disagreement between friends, which is normal, but in the end, the friends came together for the common good.
According to Sport, the “almost reverential” respect Laporta once held for Perez is virtually nonexistent, and a crisis has begun to develop between the two parties, particularly over Real Madrid’s stance in the bribery case involving the vice president of the Spanish refereeing committee, José Negreira.
At the same time, Laporta has come to believe that the prestige Perez once enjoyed is gone, and that the Real Madrid president is no longer a threat. All of Europe is against him, and he feels virtually isolated. Therefore, it would be best for Barcelona to pursue its own interests independently, without worrying too much about what Perez will do.
