Barcelona (AFP)
FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta insisted on Thursday on the "need" for a European Super League while calling for "dialogue with UEFA" in a brief interview with Catalan regional television TV3.
"We are in a position of caution. We believe it is a necessity," said Laporta Thursday, during a trip to the Barcelona tennis tournament, while ensuring that the members of the "Super League" remained " open to dialogue with UEFA, always ".
This is the first public statement by the president of FC Barcelona since the announcement on Sunday evening of the European Super League project, torpedoed 48 hours later by the withdrawal of six English clubs.
"I believe that there will be an institutional agreement, with a desire to move forward on these issues," assured the leader, re-elected president of Barça on March 7 after a successful first stint at the head of the Catalan club between 2003 and 2010 .
"The reason why there was this proposal still exists: we lack resources, we make significant investments, we pay very significant salaries ... And if we want football to be a spectacle that stems from sports merits, and that we maintain this level of quality, they (the leaders of the UEFA, editor's note) must take into consideration what we have proposed, "said Laporta, 58 years old.
Laporta however confirmed that "it is the socios (supporters-shareholders) who will have the last word" as to the participation of Barça in a possible future European Super League.
In a statement released Thursday afternoon, FC Barcelona considered that it would have been a "historical error" to abandon this project.
Barça confirmed the position of its president: "It is necessary to initiate structural reforms intended to guarantee the financial sustainability and the viability of the world of football", indicated the club blaugrana in this press release, assuring however that " Such a fundamental decision would in any event be subject to the approval of the competent social organs of the club.
Florentino Perez, the president of Real Madrid and first president of the "Super League", for his part said on the night of Wednesday to Thursday that the project was on "stand-by".
Presented on Monday, this European Super League project was abandoned Tuesday evening by the six English clubs initially present among the twelve founding clubs, after strong political and sporting protests, but also vehement reactions from supporters.
In Spain, Atlético Madrid announced its withdrawal from the project on Wednesday noon, quickly followed by Inter Milan.
© 2021 AFP