Real Madrid chief pushes for breakaway Super League

Real Madrid President Florentino Perez said European football is "sick" and that changes are needed to stop younger fans drifting away from the sport, again touting the prospect of a Super League made up of the continent's elite clubs.

Perez is one of the key architects of the European Super League, which folded less than 48 hours after it was announced last year in April due to an outcry by fans, governments and players. This led to teams like Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid pulling out, but others, like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus still hold on.

"Our beloved sport is sick, especially in Europe and, of course, in Spain," Perez told the club's general assembly on Sunday.

"Football is losing its position as the world's leading global sport. "The most worrying fact is that young people are becoming less and less interested in football. The current competitions, as designed today, do not attract spectators' interest, except in the final stages."

The Super League sued UEFA and FIFA at a Spanish court, which sought guidance from the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union, which will deliver its ruling next year.

Perez also pointed out how infrequently top teams in football face each other and said midweek European competition should offer fans the opportunity of matches between "the strongest teams and with the best players in the world" throughout the year.

"If we look at the last Champions League finalists, Liverpool, a historic team with six European Cups, it turns out that we have played them only nine times in 67 years."