Florentino Perez remains adamant the European Super League must go ahead as "football is severely damaged", with the Real Madrid president suggesting the possibility of the top-four teams from each country featuring in the breakaway competition.
Plans for a Super League to rival UEFA's Champions League were announced on Sunday, with 12 founding members – Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham, Juventus, Inter and Milan.
But after widespread criticism from UEFA, FIFA, clubs, governments, fans and pundits, all six Premier League clubs pulled out, while Atletico, Inter, Milan and Juve followed suit.
Perez – who had been appointed as chairman of the competition – has continued to stress the need for the Super League and he flagged the idea of moving away from an exclusive group of clubs.
"These things get manipulated," Perez told Diario AS, with the full interview to be published on Saturday. "It is not a plan which excludes club and nor is it designed to go against other leagues.
"The Super League project is the best possible solution, and it has been created to help football get out of the crisis. Football is severely damaged because its economy has been ruined and it has to adapt to the new era we are living in. The Super League does not go against domestic competitions and its objective is to ensure that more money is available for all sections of football. The concept is to generate more interest for the games. Nor do I think that the changes which UEFA have made are a real solution to the problem because what has been proposed isn't even an improvement on the current model.
"Also, we cannot wait until 2024. But in any case, we must have done something badly. We are going to try to turn this around and develop more ideas. Maybe the solution is for the top four teams in every league to play. I don't know, but something needs to be done because today's youth, those between 14 and 24 years of age, are abandoning football because they see it as being boring compared to the other forms of entertainment which they prefer.
"There are four billion football fans all over the world and half of them are fans of the clubs in the Super League. Football is the only global sport."
Perez added: "Lets look at the data: a recent report by KPMG - in the first three months of the pandemic alone last season, the 12 clubs in the Super League reported losses of 650 million euros.
"By the end of this season, with the pandemic still ongoing, the losses will be between 2,000 and 2,500 million euros. Girondins [Bordeaux] have recently gone into administration. Either we do something soon or many more clubs will go under."
Madrid update on Mbappe's recovery after questions over France absence
Kylian Mbappe was pictured by Real Madrid during an individual recovery programme amid growing questions over his France absence.
Madrid released a statement on Monday to update on the forward's recovery from a muscle issue that kept him out of France's October internationals squad.
Questions had persisted from reports in France after Mbappe was spotted in a Swedish nightclub on Thursday, when Didier Deschamps' side hammered Israel.
Deschamps insisted the matter was not an issue to discuss, though speculation remains over Mbappe's commitment to France, with reports suggesting he is prioritising Madrid and a potential Ballon d'Or.
Los Blancos seemingly sought to quash any growing murmurs of discontent by confirming Mbappe's appearance at the club before France's 2-1 win over Belgium in Brussels.
"Kylian Mbappe continues to work on his individual fitness plan," a short club statement read.
"The forward is working on his own as he tries to recover fully from the discomfort in the biceps femoris of his left leg.
"He trained on his own in the gym and out on the pitch at Real Madrid City, under the guidance of Antonio Pintus, who is in charge of the club's physical preparation."
Mbappe subsequently posted a picture on Instagram of him in the Madrid gym, captioned "back to work" as the former Paris Saint-Germain forward continues his recovery.
The 25-year-old was joined by goalkeeping pair Thibaut Courtois and Andriy Lunin before more of Carlo Ancelotti's squad return from international football on Tuesday.
Deschamps' men did not feel Mbappe's absence, however, as Randal Kolo Muani's brace secured the vital victory over Belgium to boost their top-two hopes in the Nations League.
Zola surprised by Palmer's Chelsea impact
Gianfranco Zola believes Cole Palmer is a "top player", though he has been surprised by the impact the England international has had since joining Chelsea.
Palmer signed for the Blues at the start of last season and is a hugely influential figure at Stamford Bridge.
He was named the Premier League's Young Player of the Year, and since his debut in September 2023, Palmer has been involved in 44 top-flight goals (28 goals, 16 assists). No other player in the competition has directly contributed to as many goals in that time.
Already this season, he has netted six goals and registered five assists in the league, the most of any Chelsea player, and made history against Brighton, becoming the first player to score four times in the first half of a Premier League match.
And Chelsea great Zola has high hopes for the 22-year-old.
"At the moment he is producing performances and results worthy of a top player, so where he can get, I don't know, because this guy has surprised everyone, especially me," Zola told Stats Perform at Festival dello Sport in Trento, Italy.
"I knew he had good qualities, but doing what he is doing is a surprise for me. And so, I would really like him to continue to surprise both me and the others, so let's hope he continues like this."
Chelsea sit fourth in the Premier League and are unbeaten in the competition since their opening-day loss to Palmer's former club Manchester City.
Enzo Maresca is now looking to become only the fifth boss to win each of his first four Premier League away games, with one of the previous four to do so being his next opponent, Liverpool's Arne Slot.
Despite questions surrounding the club before the start of the season, Maresca has seemingly imposed his style of play on the squad quickly, and Zola is impressed with how they have adapted to life under the new head coach.
"I am very happy because beyond the results, which are positive, the team is showing signs of being on the right path," he added.
"There is a structure that is working and then, as they say in England, a 'top of that', that is Palmer, who is continuing to do extraordinary things as he did last year."
Chelsea face league leaders Liverpool on Sunday and will be looking to stay in the mix at the top of the table by claiming their first win in seven against the Reds.
Maresca has shrugged off early suggestions that Chelsea could challenge for the title this season, and though Zola thinks the Blues are competing well, he expects it to be tight in the Premier League.
"Undoubtedly the competition is very strong, very high," he said.
"Liverpool, Arsenal, who have been doing important things for a few years now, City, who will return to their levels, are already at their levels, have had the misfortune of losing a very important player like Rodri, who can be a factor, but [Pep] Guardiola has always shown that he can find solutions, so they will also be there.
"The Premier League is competitive, and Chelsea will have a lot of competitiveness against these teams. However, I repeat, it is encouraging because they are growing well."
Mbappe free to do what he wants, says Deschamps after nightclub controversy
France manager Didier Deschamps believes Kylian Mbappe should be allowed to do what he wants, playing down rumours of a rift between the two.
The comments came after Mbappe was spotted in a nightclub in Sweden on Thursday, the same night France beat Israel 4-1, having been left out of the squad by Deschamps to recover from an injury.
Mbappe had suffered a muscle injury with Real Madrid last month and was given the international break to rest by the France manager.
But Deschamps was both unconcerned and unaware of the striker's excursion.
"I don't follow the news of players who are not here," he said. "Kylian is following a programme with Real Madrid. I don't know if he was away or not."
The controversy stems from rumours that Mbappe had asked Deschamps to only play him in 'important' international matches, as he prioritises winning the Ballon d'Or.
Given that Mbappe had returned from injury for Real Madrid, coming off the bench against Lille in the Champions League earlier this month and starting the 2-0 victory over Villarreal in LaLiga a few days later, the decision to leave Mbappe out raised questions.
Deschamps, though, was quick to give a logical explanation for the absence of their biggest player, who is just nine goals behind Olivier Giroud (57) as France's all-time top scorer.
"Like any player for his club, he follows a programme. If players have days off, they are free to do what they want," added Deschamps.
France face Belgium on Monday without Mbappe, having beaten them 2-0 at home in the reverse fixture last month.
The striker only made a 23-minute cameo off the bench in that game, though he had the joint-most shots in the game (four) and the second-most touches in the box (five) among his team-mates.
Deschamps' side are, in fact, unbeaten in their last five matches without their captain in the starting XI. They are a point behind group-leaders Italy at the halfway point.
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