President of the European Super League: We are doing this to save football | World news

The president of the new European Super League has defended the tournament, saying those involved are doing it to save football.

Florentino Perez, who is also president of Real Madrid, told El Chiringuito TV: “We are doing this to save football, which is at a critical time.

“Important clubs in England, Italy and Spain have to find a solution to a very bad situation in football.

“The only way to make money with entries is to make games that are more competitive, more engaging, that fans around the world can see.”

AC Milan, Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, Barcelona, ​​Inter Milan, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur have all joined the Super League as founding clubs, securing vast financial rewards for themselves at a time when revenue has been hit by coronavirus restrictions.

But they have been criticized by supporters, former footballers and politicians, many of whom called them greedy and warned the new competition would harm the game.

UEFA, in a joint statement with the FA, Premier League, La Liga and Serie A, criticized the plans and did not rule out legal action.

This too threatened to ban players from all other competitions at national, European or world level, which means that they could be barred from playing in their national teams.

But Mr Perez said: “Football has to evolve, as life evolves.

“Football has to change and continue to adapt to the times we live in.

“We have to change something to make this sport more attractive globally, so a really simple thing has come to us.”

The 14 Premier League clubs not involved in the Super League will discuss the situation in a virtual meeting on Tuesday chaired by general manager Richard Masters.