Criticism has hailed from the European Football Association (Uefa), supporters, players and fans of the series the twelve big clubs from England, Spain and Italy have taken the initiative for - and which would compete with the Champions League.

But the league's chairman, also the big man Real Madrid's strong man, Florentino Perez is not backing down.

In his first interview after the super league was presented, he says that it is absolutely necessary.

- We are all on the brink of ruin.

Young people are no longer interested in football.

Why?

Because there are so many matches with poor quality and then they find other platforms, he says in the Spanish TV program El Chiringuito de Jugones, an interview wired over the world media.

Will not be shut out

According to Perez, the fact that French Paris SG and German Bayern Munich and Dortmund are not among the twelve is due to the fact that they were not invited, not that they nobbed the league.

But all top clubs bleed, he says in the program, and the Champions League is not the solution.

On the contrary.

- If we continue with the Champions League, the interest only gets smaller and smaller and then it's over.

The new scheme will take effect in 2024 and it is completely absurd.

By 2024, we are all dead.

Together we (the twelve clubs) have lost five billion euros, in two seasons Real Madrid has gone back 400 million.

Florentino Perez rejects all talk that his own Real Madrid and Manchester City - who are both in the semi-finals - could be thrown out of this year's Champions League as a punishment for the breakaway league.

- Absolutely not.

Not City either, or anyone else.

It's not going to happen.

The matches can be shortened

He also dismisses UEFA chairman Aleksander Ceferin's threat that players participating in the new league will be expelled from the World Cup and European Championships.

- All the players can be completely calm because it will not happen.

Uefa has a monopoly position but must be open to dialogue and not keep on threatening, says Florentino Perez.

During the nearly two-hour interview, he also opened up for rule changes and that the matches can be shortened to make them more attractive.

And he promised that the goal camera system VAR will work better in the new league, which in Perez's words is just a good deed from "a group of clubs from some European countries who want to do something to make the sport more attractive".

- They say that this is a league for the rich but it is not true.

It's a league to save football.