Tebas: "Florentino is behind Bartomeu's Super League plan"

LaLiga president Javier Tebas has accused Real Madrid of "being behind" Josep Maria Bartomeu's surprising revelation that Barça have accepted an invitation to join a proposed new European Super League. Bartomeu made the announcement on Tuesday evening when he stepped down from his position as Barcelona president. "Bartomeu is being directed by Florentino on this matter, that's what I think," Tebas told The Associated Press (AP).

Javier Tebas has for some time had his suspicions that Florentino is keen for Real Madrid to be part of a new elite competition which would run parallel to the Champions League and feature the top teams in Europe. "The so-called Super League is one of Real Madrid president's old dreams, he's spent a long time working on the project. It's not exactly new news. But it would be a big mistake because nobody considers the serious economic consequences it might have," Tebas added.

It's not the first time that Tebas has voiced his opposition to a European Super League. The LaLiga president likened the idea to "a project that had been dreamt up over a few drinks at the bar. A project of this kind could cause a great deal of economic damage not just to the organisers but also to the institutions who are supposedly prepared to provide the financial backing for it - if they even exist, because nothing has come out officially. Those who are behind this idea show that they seriously have no understanding of football and the broadcasting rights market.

"It was unfortunate that on his last day in charge, Bartomeu made the announcement of the club's proposed participation in a phantom competition which would be financial ruin for Barcelona, and at the same time underlined his own ignorance about the football industry. It's a sad ending for a president who got a few decisions right but lately, made mistake after mistake," LaLiga's president wrote of Bartomeu.