Florentino Perez: Real Madrid president says ‘clubs can’t leave’ European Super League due to binding contracts

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has had plenty to say in the past week about the European Super League.

Now he’s claiming that the controversial breakaway competition, which collapsed last week after 10 out of 12 founding teams pulled out (except for Real Madrid and Barcelona), is not dead.

“I’m not going to take my time to explain what a binding contract is here. But the fact is, the clubs can’t leave,” Perez told AS.

“Some, because of the pressure, have had to say they’ll leave. But this project, or something very similar, will happen, and I hope it’s in the near future,” he added.

Perez also claimed that “everything has been manipulated” and that the ESL is “the best possible solution” to get football out of crisis.

Perez added that JP Morgan, the bank financing the ESL, has not pulled out.

“That’s not true, they haven’t left either. They’ve taken time to reflect, like the 12 clubs. If something needs to be changed, it’ll be changed, but the Super League is the best project we’ve thought can be carried out,” said Perez.

The European Super League saga began last Sunday night and by Tuesday, all six English Premier League clubs involved, as well as AC Milan, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid, had pulled out. Juventus also issued a statement saying the proposed mid-week competition was no longer be viable.

Real Madrid and Barcelona, however, did not leave.

Barcelona have since said that a “much more in-depth analysis is required into the reasons that have caused this reaction in order to reconsider” and that such an analysis would need "time and the necessary composure to avoid taking any rash action.”