Al-Khelaifi was speaking for the first time in his new position as president of the European Club Association
Paris Saint-Germain chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi has used his first appearance as president of the European Club Association to take aim at the 12 clubs behind the doomed European Super League.
Premier League sides Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham were amongst those pushing for the potentially lucrative breakaway league earlier in the year.
While all of the English clubs swiftly pulled out after the proposal was met with fierce opposition from supporters, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus are yet to withdraw.
Al-Khelaifi was named ECA president soon after the Super League plan imploded, replacing Juve chief Andrea Agnelli, who had resigned from the position.
“I will not spend much time talking about April 18 and the ‘not-so-Super League’ because I do not like to focus on fabulists and failures,” Al-Khelaifi said.
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Al-Khelaifi, who, along with his new ECA role and being chairman of Qatar-owned PSG is also chairman of major UEFA broadcast rights holders, beIN Sports, added:
“Together we defended the interests of European football for everyone. We relied on the resolve and strength of [UEFA] president [Aleksander Ceferin], who stood up to the midnight coup. He said ‘we will win’ and we did.”
He reserved a special mention for those in charge of Real, Barca and Juve:
“While the three rebel clubs waste energies, twist narratives and continue to shout at the sky, the rest of us are moving forward.”
“When passing through a storm, you need a good captain, not like the one in the past, who went away from the ship,” added Ceferin, taking a further swipe at Agnelli.
“The ECA has a good captain. Your future is bright.”
Al-Khelaifi also said that the ECA would be working closely with UEFA on a new plan which will include financial safeguards as European football continues to recover from the impacts of the pandemic.
Changes to the Financial Fair Play regulations – with which PSG have had a complicated relationship – are also expected to follow, with reports suggesting a salary cap may be introduced.
