Real Madrid boss aims to shatter global dominance of English Premier League
By ANISaturday, June 13, 2009
LONDON - Real Madrid president Florentino Perez aims to shatter the global dominance of the English Premier League, after successfully luring ace striker Cristiano Ronaldo to his club.
The new Bernabeu president plans to change the face of football and shift the balance of power from England to Spain.
Perez wants La Liga to go head-to-head with the Premier League for the lucrative foreign TV rights market worth hundreds of millions to English clubs, and to create a European Super League that could potentially kill off English domestic competitions, The Sun reports.
Only one other transfer in the history of the game captured the public imagination across the globe in the way Ronaldo’s move did this week. That of David Beckham and Perez was the man behind both the transfers.
“Kick-off times of the games in today’s globalized markets are very important. You have to think not just of one but of all continents. The English do that,” Perez said.
“In Asia it’s the Premier League that has more appeal because they can watch it live over there because of the kick-off times. We have to have a dialogue with the TV rights-holders and put the games at the times that will give us the biggest amount of money.
“If we have to play at 1 p.m. or 3 p.m. or 5 p.m., like they play in England, then we will. We have to discuss this with TV operators to earn more money and advertise La Liga - which is one of the best in the world along with the Premier League in countries where, at the moment because of timetables, they can’t watch ours live,” Perez added. (ANI)
