Barcelona breaks silence on Super League

In the latest development on the European Super League saga, Barcelona president Joan Laporta has finally broken his silence and declared that he is still absolutely convinced that the controversial project is a must.

There was chaos following the official announcement on the formation of the Super League last Sunday. Massive protests from fans and threats from UEFA dominated the headlines on Monday, leading to the withdrawal of a majority of the 12 clubs involved in the breakaway tournament.

The six English clubs buckled first, quickly followed by the rest of the teams involved except for Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. After maintaining his silence for most of the week, Laporta has finally issued a statement on the controversy.

"[A Super League] is absolutely necessary. We are supporters of the national leagues and we will talk to UEFA," he said on TV3, apart from an official document posted on the club's website.

"We have a position of prudence. It is a necessity, but the last word in the end will be [from] the members," he said, saying that ultimately, his decisions are based on what the fans want. Laporta also echoed the position of Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, who stressed that only a handful of clubs are actually able to draw enough interest to generate income. As such, they must be able to have more control on the distribution of that revenue.

"The big clubs contribute a lot and we must participate in the economic distribution," said Laporta.

Nevertheless, the Barcelona president admitted that the project is not perfect and the Super League format can be improved. He zeroed in on the major complaint of most non-ESL clubs, which is the fact that the format is closed and outsiders have little to no chance of being involved in the future.

"It should be an attractive competition, based on sporting merits," he said, stating that while changes must be made, he still believes in the project and it can move forward following a thorough discussion with UEFA. "We are open to an open dialogue with UEFA. I think there will be an understanding," he concluded.