Nasser Al-Khelaifi, president of Paris Saint-Germain and chairman of the European Club Association, asserted that all parties emerged victorious from the agreement between UEFA and Real Madrid to resolve the Super League crisis.
Real Madrid announced on Wednesday that they had reached a satisfactory agreement with UEFA on this matter, which newspapers interpreted as a death knell for the Super League, effectively ending the idea even before it was implemented.
Speaking to the media after the agreement was finalized, Al-Khelaifi said, “I feel immense pride and happiness. I would like to thank everyone, all the parties who contributed to this historic agreement; from the UEFA president, who works tirelessly every day for European football and is a leader characterized by intelligence and humility, to Florentino Perez, that elegant, intelligent, and visionary man.”
He added, “If anyone says or thinks that Perez ‘lost’ today, they are a fool and know nothing about football. The most important thing here is that we all won, there are no losers; football has triumphed.”
He added, “Today UEFA won, Real Madrid won, the European Club Association won, and most importantly, Florentino won. The war wouldn’t have gotten us anywhere, and now there are no losers.”
He concluded, “I think President Pérez is a greater and better person today. He has led Real Madrid to do what is most beneficial for European football. I truly thank him and appreciate his trust in me. I would also like to thank Chelsea, and especially Behdad Eghbali, who has been with me since the beginning of these negotiations.”
The Super League had been Pérez’s dream recently, but the pressure that led to the withdrawal of clubs, most recently Barcelona, effectively ended the idea, which was considered a major loss for Real Madrid in particular.
However, at the same time, Pérez achieved his goal. The profits of the major clubs increased, and the significant change in the Champions League format benefited Real Madrid, a point Al-Khelaifi is trying to emphasize.
