Having already made an enemy of every UEFA nation, FIFA president Gianni Infantino can now add Real Madrid to his list of influential detractors.
The most successful club in Europe added their hefty weight to the groundswell of public opinion turning against Infantino this week. After a plot to sell stakes in the commercial rights of FIFA’s most important competitions, namely the men’s and women’s World Cups, was unearthed by reports from The Times and Financial Times on Tuesday, FIFA and Infantino have been desperately trying to reset the narrative.
Despite offering each national association millions of dollars for their support, Infantino was forced to drop his proposal in the face of a mounting backlash, which was spearheaded by all members of UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, agreeing to boycott future FIFA tournaments.
Real Madrid became the first prominent club side to go public with their position, “warmly welcoming” the decision to scrap the plan in a stinging statement: “Our club believes this is good news for football, for its governing bodies and, above all, for the millions of fans of our beloved sport.
“Real Madrid wishes to express its gratitude to UEFA, the confederations and federations, and all the institutions that opposed this proposal firmly and responsibly. Their unity and sense of duty have protected football at a decisive moment.”
“... International football and the World Cup are, above all, events of public interest,” the press release continued, “and they form a heritage that belongs to nations, to fans and to society as a whole. We therefore believe that they must never be treated as mere financial assets to be commercialized for the benefit of a select few.
“Real Madrid firmly opposes any attempt to sell the future commercial revenues from these competitions without assuming any of the associated costs or risks in return. It is the clubs that bear these costs, and any initiative that seeks to appropriate football’s future revenues without assuming the responsibilities that generate them is unacceptable and must never be considered again.”
As welcome as Real Madrid’s stance may have been, it was not made without a nod toward the club’s own agenda.
Real Madrid Use Infantino Statement for Jibe at La Liga
Never ones to miss the opportunity for a shot across the bow of an enemy, Real Madrid concluded their statement by framing La Liga in the same light as Infantino.
“This is, moreover, the very same principle that Real Madrid has consistently defended at national level,” the Spanish giants added. “Our club opposed and did not participate in the deal whereby La Liga committed a percentage of the clubs’ future broadcasting revenues for 50 years in exchange for the entry of a private fund such as CVC.”
In the summer of 2021, the Spanish top flight agreed to sell 8.2% of the league’s broadcasting and sponsorship income until 2071 for almost $2.2 billion. Madrid staunchly refused to accept such a proposal which was voted through by 37 of Spain’s 42 professional teams at the time, with club president Florentino Pérez accusing the league of “attacking the club’s financial wealth.” Madrid took La Liga to court and lost their appeal that it was an illegal venture but managed to be successfully excluded from the deal’s terms.
“Mortgaging for half a century revenue that belongs to the clubs, who bear the full costs and risks, sets a precedent that football must not repeat, whether in our country or internationally,” Madrid declared.
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