Real Madrid have praised UEFA for helping protect football "at a decisive moment" after FIFA abandoned plans to sell stakes in a World Cup company to private investors, despite Real Madrid itself having instigated the European Super League movement.
Opposition from three confederations prompted FIFA to drop the proposal, dealing a setback to president Gianni Infantino, who has found himself fighting for his job. UEFA had pledged to boycott FIFA competitions until the idea was scrapped and said Infantino had "lost the confidence" of European football's governing body.
The UEFA board is considering further action, including the possibility of triggering a no-confidence vote in Infantino, which would require the backing of 43 FIFA member nations.
A Real Madrid statement said the club valued very positively the decision taken by FIFA to abandon the proposal to partially sell the commercial rights of its competitions, calling it good news for football, for its institutions and for the millions of fans of the sport.
Madrid's own Super League history
The statement also thanked UEFA, the confederations and federations, and all the institutions that firmly and responsibly opposed the project, saying their unity and sense of duty had protected football at a decisive moment.
The praise for UEFA comes despite Real Madrid being a founding member of the European Super League movement, which triggered backlash from fans and other clubs, with protests held across England. While all the English clubs withdrew quickly, Madrid did not pull out until February this year. Madrid president Florentino Perez had been planning the project since 2009.
Confederations unite against FIFA plan
Alongside UEFA, CONCACAF, which governs football in North, Central America and the Caribbean, and the Asian Football Confederation also spoke out against the plans. Infantino had sought approval from national associations to establish FIFA Forward Enterprise, a company that would oversee the commercial and operational aspects of its competitions, including the men's and women's World Cups. The most controversial element was the proposed sale of a 20 per cent stake to private investors.
Carlos Cordeiro, Infantino's senior adviser on global strategy and governance, resigned over the matter, saying the proposal was a bad deal for football and would mortgage football's future. FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour said the governing body's administration had been deceived about the project.
Clubs as the 'foundation' of football
The Real Madrid statement said clubs are the foundation on which national team football and the World Cup are built, since they discover, train and develop the players who make the competitions possible. It added that national team football and the World Cup are events of public interest and a heritage belonging to nations, fans and society as a whole, and said they should never be treated as simple financial assets marketed for the benefit of a few.
