Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi asked his Barcelona counterpart Joan Laporta to give up on the “stupid” Super League, ahead of this month’s Champions League quarter-final between the clubs.
La Liga rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona are the only two clubs who continue to promote the Super League, after Italian club Juventus initiated the process of withdrawing from the project in July 2023.
The Super League was launched by 12 clubs in April 2021, but nine clubs — Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, Inter, Milan and Atletico Madrid — subsequently withdrew their support following a backlash from their supporters.
French club PSG, alongside German giants such as Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, had stated their strong opposition to the Super League idea from its outset.
Al-Khelaifi, who is also chairman of the European Club Association (ECA) — the body that represents interests of professional clubs in European football’s governing body, UEFA, which does not have the clubs still promoting the Super League among its member clubs — has now spoken of how he raised the subject with Barcelona’s Laporta ahead of their two clubs meeting in the quarter-final stage of the Champions League.
Al-Khelaifi and Laporta have differing positions on the future of European football (FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)
“I have always said that the Super League is not going to exist,” Al-Khelaifi told El Mundo.
“The Champions League is the best competition in the world for everyone, and those clubs (Barcelona and Real Madrid) are playing in the Champions League because they know how important it is.”
Al-Kheliafi added the ECA “continues to grow” without the membership of the two Spanish clubs, and said of his meeting with Laporta ahead of the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final: “I asked him, ‘When are you going to give up the stupid idea of the Super League?’ I’m sure he will give it up. It makes no sense.”
PSG won the quarter-final against Barcelona 6-4 on aggregate, to setup a semi-final against Borussia Dortmund. The other last-four tie sees Real Madrid play Bayern Munich.
(Mehmet Eser/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Read the full article here