CEO of Bayer Leverkusen, Fernando Carrosaid on Monday that “at the moment only Real Madrid and Barcelona are in the Super League project”, at an event held in the capital of College of Economists of Catalonia.
“All other European clubs, within the Association of European Clubs, have signed a fifty-five-year contract with UEFA and are managing the rights to the new Champions League.Without a doubt, I do not believe that the Super League can only have two teams. I’ll leave it at that“he replied.
Carro participated as a speaker debate on ‘The future of clubs in international football’, organized by Sport Cultura Barcelona, with Inter Miami president Xavier Asensi and AC Talent Sports & Entertainment president Arturo Canales.
The CEO also intervened of Saudi Al Hilal, Esteve Calzada, CEO of Mediapro, Tatxo Benet, and director of Manchester City, Ferran Soriano.
At first, the speakers gave their opinion as to whether football is a sport or a sport. “Football is everything: sport, business and entertainment. “Clubs need to be looked at more like they are big companies and more professionals are needed,” Carro began.
Asensi’s opinion, with several points of view: “Football is a game that over time has become a spectacle in which people like to freely participate. Their interest generates money, which attracts power. It’s hard to figure out what it is“.
The rise of Saudi football
The dispute turned to the rise of Saudi football, with the video intervention of the general director of Al Hilal, Esteve Calzada, who explained that football in the country “is not a sport for the elite, but a sport that is very popular in performance and viewing, which gives it the opportunity to continue to grow.”
“We will not only sign players who are about to retire, But we are looking at footballers who have years ahead of them and what affects the growth of the competition.“, Calzada said, while Asensi announced that MLS wants to “support European football” and not its competition.
Carro has said that the Saudi clubs “may be competition to sign or customers to sell, but don’t worry”, while Mr. Canales highlighted this. “They are investing more in offices” and offer attractive projects to players after retirement, although the structures of European clubs remain “very tight”.
Asensi admitted that there are “similarities” between the rise of Saudi and Chinese football a decade ago, such as the aim to “sell itself to the world” with government funding, but noted that Saudi “has come and stayed for a long time”. On the other hand, Mr. Canales said that China’s potential was great because of its size, but “they have a big problem of corruption.
The story of Manchester City
The second room was an example of club ownership, and Ferran Soriano explained that in Manchester City “the idea of ownership” has not ended due to being in Qatari hands. “The club is for the fans, the owners are private and they run it well, and they are happy because there are good results and the importance of the club is respected”he added.
However, Soriano admitted that managing a club that owes money to its members takes its toll “Leadership is very difficult” adding “difficulties in raising funds”, the opinion shared by those who attended, although Carro explained that “there is no connection between ownership and good management” if “decisions are made by professionals and not by electoral processes.”
In the third block, Benet analyzed in the video “division of soccer TV rights” it leads to lower prices for viewers and a diversity of platforms that may “cause anxiety” for them.
He has also said that events such as Kings League and eSports “didn’t compete” and there are no football fans left, which the Sens didn’t agree with. “The rest is short and can affect people over time,” he said.
Finally, everyone has agreed to show the difficulties in managing the football calendar due to conflicts between teams and organizers of different competitions, But they have agreed to ensure that the number of parties cannot grow indefinitely.
