THE WALLS continued to close in on Florentino Perez’s European Super League dream as his own stars began to show their discontent.
Real Madrid’s Luka Modric, Lucas Vazquez, Marcelo and Alvaro Odriozola all ‘liked’ David Beckham’s critique of the plot, as spotted by Marca.
The England legend decried the game being ‘in danger’ as the ESL proposals emerged – before spectacularly collapsing under the weight of fan criticism.
Los Blancos club president Perez, recently re-elected to 2025, spearheaded the operation financed by US bank JP Morgan.
The 74-year-old cited the supposedly declining interest of young people in football as one key reason behind the ESL.
But there was a sense of irony as the man who shot to fame through his Galactico transfers was called out by two of his most iconic signings.
Beckham wrote on Instagram: “I’m someone who loves football. It has been my life for as long as I can remember.
“I loved it from when I was a young child as a fan, and I’m still a fan now.
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“As a player and now as an owner I know that our sport is nothing without the fans. We need football to be for everyone.
“We need football to be fair and we need competitions based on merit. Unless we protect these values the game we love is in danger…”
The statement came after Luis Figo, who controversially traded Barcelona for Madrid upon Perez’s first election win in 2000, slammed the ESL.
He stated: “This so called ‘Super League’ is anything but ‘Super’.
“This greedy and callous move would spell disaster for our grassroots, for women’s football, and the wider football community only to serve self-interested owners, who stopped caring about their fans long ago, and complete disregard for sporting merit. Tragic.”
Inter Miami owner Beckham, 45, also played for ESL pair AC Milan and Manchester United, with the Red Devils already jumping ship.
Reuters have quoted ESL vice-chairman and Juventus chief Andrea Agnelli as admitting the proposals cannot continue after the six Premier League clubs withdrew.
Real president Perez failed to make a planned appearance on Spanish TV show El Larguero on Tuesday night as the plot crumbled.
And he is facing a continued backlash across LaLiga with Villarreal president Fernando Roig declaring on Wednesday: “He is selfish, selfish and also… selfish. He only thinks of Real Madrid.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
