Real Madrid President Florentino Perez Backs Club World Cup Amid La Liga Criticism
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has spoken in support of the FIFA Club World Cup after La Liga president Javier Tebas took a swipe at the tournament.
Los Blancos began their Club World Cup journey on Wednesday with a 1-1 draw against Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal, with Federico Valverde missing a late penalty which could have given Real Madrid all three points.
The expanded tournament in the United States of America has come under a lot of fire from certain voices within the sport, and Tebas made his feelings very clear when he spoke to Sport (translation from Football Espana).
My goal is to eliminate it, so that there is no more Club World Cup. We don’t need another competition. There is no more money in the world of audio-visual rights. What needs to be done is to maintain the eco-system and eliminate it. We have to maintain the sustainability of football. I’m not seeing it. Yesterday I saw a bit of Chelsea and it seemed like a summer friendly, I didn’t notice intensity in the 25 minutes I saw of the match.Javier Tebas
Tebas regularly clashes with Real Madrid and Florentino Perez, meaning it was no surprise to see the latter take the opposite viewpoint when he spoke to DAZN ahead of the match against Al Hilal in Florida.
I want to thank FIFA and DAZN for the possibility they give all the fans so that the best clubs in the world can play in a competition as beautiful as this. The first Club World Cup, which I am sure will be a success. We all come with that enthusiasm. We have finally achieved something we have been fighting for a long time. The most global sport in the world is football, that technology has helped us to play this competition and that it is also free. It means that children from all over the world can watch Real Madrid. Football is going to change with the union of the big clubs and technology. I have been one of those who has fought the most to make it a reality.Florentino Perez
Real Madrid's next match will be against Mexican side Pachuca, with the final group game being a contest with RB Salzburg from Austria.
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Euan is an experienced soccer writer who has been featured by The Guardian, MARCA, 90min, Sempre Milan and many more similar publications. He secured a first-class degree in journalism at Liverpool John Moores University and his career has seen him primarily focus on European football, developing an in-depth knowledge of multiple clubs and leagues in the process.
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