"If you can't afford to travel to Europe every other week, you shouldn't be so poor" - Pérez

Florentino Pérez, chairman of the newly proposed European Super League, has hit back at criticism from football fans who suggest the breakaway league will ruin the beautiful game.

"I do not see the issue here", said a defiant Pérez. "Football has been about money for years now, and none of you had a problem with it when the oil barons or the Saudi princes took over your club, because it meant you could afford the best players and actually compete.

"Do you think these super clubs got to where they are because of loyalty? Fans? History? Nonsense. They got there because of money; cold, hard, corrupt cash. Sure, ticket sales help, but that's just a drop in the ocean. It's about TV deals, sponsorship, investment from shady individuals with sketchy pasts.

"If the pandemic has shown anything it's that we don't need fans. We can just pipe in some fake crowd noises and free up the good seats to other people with heaps of money.

"And if you can't afford to travel to Europe every other week to watch your club play Barcelona or Juventus, then you shouldn't be so poor. You should have thought about this before you were born into poverty. Either get rich or support some s**thole club like Wigan Athletic."