Atletico Madrid CEO Condemns Uncertainty Caused By European Super League

Atletico Madrid has left the European Super League (Instagram/@athleticodemadrid).

JAKARTA - Atletico Madrid CEO, Miguel Angel Gil Marin, criticized the latest developments in the European Super League (European Super League) project.

He blamed the project for creating uncertainty and said the proposal was only about justification for one club.

European Super League (ESL) promoter, A22 Sports Management, re-launched in early December 2024 as "Unification League" and asked the football regulatory bodies, UEFA and FIFA, to officially recognize their right to host a new tournament.

Atletico Madrid is one of 12 ESL founding member clubs, but soon became the first Spanish club to withdraw from the project, leaving Real Madrid - the main supporter of the scheme - and Barcelona as La Liga's only representative.

"In the past (Europe's Super League) was a project based on a closed league, which would protect a handful of people, and endanger European football's pyramid."

"Right now it's only about justification for one club, in its hard struggle against the system".

"To be honest I believe the best way to change things you don't agree with is to do it from within."

From the outside, no matter how big the club is, the only thing you achieve is to create uncertainty for television channels and sponsors.

This slows competition growth in their current format. UEFA and the European Club Association (ECA), which represent the system, have adapted their competition with the aim of allowing clubs from more countries to participate.

"This is thanks to three European tournaments: the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League (UEFA Conference League). At the same time, they made sure that big clubs made more money," Gil Marin said in an interview with Atletico's internal media last weekend.

On the other hand, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez attacked UEFA reform in a speech at the club members' annual rally in November 2024. He reaffirmed his support for the European Super League.

Meanwhile, Gil Marin, representing Atletico, is calling for more restrictions on the number of matches top players can participate in, to protect their health.

"This is a very busy season for some clubs. In my opinion, the solution is to limit the number of matches each player can play for a season, for clubs and their national teams. It is our duty to protect the players," said Gil Marin.

Atletico topped the La Liga standings entering 2025, after a dramatic 2-1 win over their Barcelona rivals on December 21, 2024.

Massive investment in new players, such as Julian Alvarez, Alexander Sorloth, Conor Gallagher, and Robin Le Normand in the summer brought Los Rojiblancos to be a strong candidate to win the league title.

"We know that we have to make changes in the squad, recruiting various important players in key positions."

"This means significant investment because it involves top international players".

"I'm sure we took the right approach. After the adaptation period, we saw the contribution from these new players in the team's performance," said Gil Marin again.