Real Madrid have released a statement welcoming FIFA’s withdrawl of plans to sell off a minority stake in the World Cup as pressure on president Gianni Infantino grows.
Infantino’s controversial World Cup plan sparked backlash from across the football landscape, with UEFA delcaring they had “lost confidence” in the Swiss administrator’s leadership following the collapse of his plans.
The investment proposal would have seen FIFA sell stakes in competitions including the men’s and women’s World Cups to private investors, with member associations offered $40million (£30m) in return for backing the plans.
Now Real have made an official statement welcoming the withdrawal of the plans and supporting UEFA’s efforts to prevent them from coming to fruition – but stopped short of mentioning Infantino specifically.
A statement read: “Real Madrid welcomes FIFA’s decision to abandon its proposal for the partial sale of the commercial rights to its competitions.
“Our club believes this is good news for football, its institutions, and above all, for the millions of fans of our beloved sport.
“Real Madrid wishes to express its gratitude to UEFA, the confederations and federations, and all the institutions that firmly and responsibly opposed this project. Their unity and sense of duty protected football at a crucial moment.
“Clubs are the foundation upon which international football and the World Cup are built. They are the ones who discover, train, develop, and provide the national teams with the players who make these major competitions possible.
“International football and the World Cup are, above all, events of public interest, and they constitute a heritage that belongs to nations, fans, and society as a whole.
“Therefore, we believe they should never be treated as mere financial assets to be traded for the benefit of a select few.
“Real Madrid firmly opposes any attempt to sell future commercial revenue from competitions without assuming any of the associated costs or risks.
“It is the clubs that bear these costs and risks, and any initiative that seeks to appropriate future football revenue without assuming the responsibilities that generate it is unacceptable and should never be considered again.”
