Al Nassr captain and Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo has reacted to the Super League project. The Portuguese is totally against it.
Last Thursday, European justice gave the green light for the upcoming establishment of the European Super League for teams wishing to participate. While FC Barcelona and Real Madrid have shown their desire to participate in this new competition, several big names from the Old Continent have fiercely opposed this alternative. But while we are still far from the establishment of this tournament, the debates continue to be virulent on social networks and throughout the football sphere.
This Saturday, Cristiano Ronaldo, top scorer in the history of the Champions League and five-time winner of the competition, showed his disagreement with the Super League through a like on a post from FC Fans United. The Montenegrin D3 club posted an Instagram post with the message: “please don’t take away our dreams. Don’t let the Super League be created. Let us and all the small clubs continue to dream. » A message which visibly pleased the Portuguese striker.
Super League, the clubs which have joined
While the Super League has regained its depth, many clubs spoke out favourably and more generally unfavourably on this project on Thursday during one of the most important days in the history of European football. In the pro-Super League section, unsurprisingly, we found FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. The two Spanish giants were at the initiative of the project in 2021. In Italy, Naples and its president Aurelio de Laurentiis welcomed the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the end of the UEFA monopoly concerning the organization of European competitions. Napoli is not closing the door to the Super League.
This is not the case for a large majority of European clubs which, through press releases or the speeches of their presidents, expressed their support for UEFA and the ECA throughout the day. In France, this is the case for OM (through President Pablo Longoria), OL, PSG and Monaco.
Under the leadership of Javier Tebas, president of La Liga, Spanish clubs, including Atlético de Madrid, Sevilla, Villarreal, Real Sociedad and Valencia, are overwhelmingly opposed to the project.
In England, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham also line up behind UEFA, as do Inter, AS Roma, Atalanta in Italy, Bayern and Dortmund in Germany. In Portugal, FC Porto has also expressed its hostility to this project.
UEFA’s reaction to the project
The European Court of Justice dropped quite a bombshell on Thursday with a judgment which, by pointing out the abuse of dominant position and the obstacle to competition by UEFA and FIFA through their threats of sanctions against the Super League project, changes the situation considerably.
The European body nevertheless reacted quickly. Although it recognizes the ruling and the shortcomings that it highlights, UEFA refuses to see in this decision an open door to the creation of a potential Super League.
UEFA’s reaction
“UEFA takes note of the judgment rendered today by the CJEU in the European Super League case.
This decision does not mean an endorsement or validation of the so-called “super league”; rather, it highlights a pre-existing gap in UEFA’s pre-authorization framework , a technical aspect which has already been recognized and addressed in June 2022. UEFA is confident in the robustness of its new rules, and in particular their compliance comply with all relevant European laws and regulations.
UEFA remains resolute in its commitment to preserving the European football pyramid, ensuring that it continues to serve the wider interests of society. We will continue to collectively shape the European sports model with national associations, leagues, clubs, fans, players, coaches, EU institutions, governments and partners.
We trust that the pyramid of European football based on solidarity, declared as their irreplaceable model by supporters and all stakeholders, will be preserved against the threat of splits by European and national laws.
