Football's The Loser In Brave New World Carved By Perez

Florentino Perez couldn’t have it any other way. On Monday, after a Spanish court gave the latest ruling on the Super League case, those in the Real Madrid president’s circle were very quick to insist to everyone that the judgment actually represented a victory for the project.

- MIGUEL DELANEY

This was despite virtually every legal expert considering the outcome meaningless.

Uefa currently sees no real threat from this iteration of the Super League. You just wouldn’t have guessed that from the response in Spain, where it was roundly portrayed as yet another victory for Perez. This is what he has become used to, his ambitions almost willed into existence.

You only have to look at European football’s current landscape, one that now looks set to be dominated by Real Madrid for a decade. It makes it all the more of a wonder why Perez is seeking to destroy it through the Super League.

For starters, tomorrow, Madrid expect to win their 15th Champions League. That would be more than double AC Milan’s seven, the next most successful club, who have been left for dust by the greater winds of football history.

The fear of a similar fate was one of the main factors that drove the Super League in the first place. Perez was scared that the world he had created was growing beyond his control, particularly due to the power of state-owned clubs. Neymar’s move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain had shocked him, as he feared similar for Real Madrid’s stars. He had been spooked by how much it cost to keep the 2013-18 Champions League-winning squad together. Some of that was a little rich since Perez had initiated this era with a similar move for Luis Figo in 2000, while Madrid had dictated the size of the transfer market for years.