As Florentino Perez battles on for the Super League, the Real Madrid President has argued that the Chelsea protests on Monday night were not all that they appeared.
Before the hastily built Super League came undone and club owners began apologising, a group of Chelsea fans descended on Stamford Bridge to make their opposition to the plan known.
With the club facing Brighton & Hove Albion on Monday night, fans gathered to protest the club's involvement in plans to join a breakaway competition.
Unless, of course, Florentino Perez is to be believed.
Fans protest against Chelsea's involvement in the new European Super League outside Stamford BridgeWith the proposed Super League in ruins, the Real Madrid President (and President of the Super League itself) took to Spanish TV on Wednesday night to staunchly defend the competition.
Arguing in an interview with El Larguero's Manu Carreno that clubs could not simply walk away having already signed a 'binding contract', he cast aspersions on the legitimacy of the blowback.
"Who brought those Chelsea fans to protest? There were only 40 Chelsea fans," he claimed, "and I could tell who brought them... just like here someone gave Cadiz jerseys (against Super League)."
Overwhelmingly, Perez seemed to hold the wavering Premier League clubs responsible for much of the hassle that has since followed Sunday's announcement.
"There was someone in the English clubs who did not have much interest," he stated. "That started to affect the others. There was fear. One of the English clubs was never really convinced.
"The English clubs tried to do something, but they were being told they were killing football. But there is no other solution than the Super League. Or somebody invents something else."
Interesting, Perez also claimed that without the development of a Super League such as the one proposed, the likelihood of financial struggles for these will increase.
"In general, there will not be big transfers this summer," he warned. "When money does not flow from the rich clubs to the poor clubs, everyone suffers.
"It's impossible to make signings like [Kylian] Mbappe and [Erling] Haaland, in general, not just for Real Madrid, without the Super League."
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