'There is still time, change your mind,' UEFA chief tells Super League clubs

Update: 2021-04-20 21:01 IST

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin (Photo/AFP)

The UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin pleaded to the Premier League's "Big Six" clubs, who have agreed to join the breakaway European Super League, to change their minds out of respect for football fans on Tuesday.

Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool FC, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and Arsenal have signed up for the 12-team European Super League, along with top Spanish and Italian clubs, including FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Juventus.

"I would like to address the owners of some English clubs. Gentlemen, you made a huge mistake. Some will say it is greed, others disdain, arrogance or complete ignorance of England's football culture, but actually it doesn't matter. What matters is that there is still time to change your mind, everyone makes mistakes, English fans deserve to have you correct your mistake, they deserve respect," Ceferin was quoted, as saying in an interview on Tuesday.

While the top clubs in Germany and France such as Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have made it clear that they won't be a part of the European Super League, the said English clubs have decided to go against the country's football association and fans to be a part of the league.

"England, this incredible nation with such strong and unique links to football, deserves to have you correct your mistake. It deserves respect. Correct your mistake, turn back, come to your senses. Not out of love for football because I imagine some of you don't have much of that but out of respect for those who bleed themselves dry so that they can go to the stadium to support their team and want the dream to be kept alive. Do it out of respect for the English people, for the home of football," Ceferin added.

Earlier in the day, FIFA president Gianni Infantino took to media to express his disapproval of the Super League.

"If some elect to go their own way, then they must live with the consequences of their choice. They are responsible for their choice," said Infantino said.

Meanwhile, Florentino Perez, the founder and chairman of the European Super League, said that the league was created to "save football."

"Whenever there is change, there are always people who oppose it," said the Real Madrid chief, who also pointed out that the top clubs were making losses and the Super League's big clashes could help increase their revenue.

"We are doing this to save football at this critical moment. If we continue with the Champions League there is less and less interest and then it's over. The new format which starts in 2024 is absurd. In 2024, we are all dead. In the '50s, it was a similar situation. Uefa and Fifa went against the new European Cup, but that competition changed football," Perez told the Spanish TV show El Chiringuito de Jugones. 

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