Self-appointed kings of the Champions League, Real Madrid are seeking a 15th European title against Borussia Dortmund in Saturday’s final, but the competition could cease to exist if the Spanish giants get their way.
Real Madrid and rivals Barcelona continued their desire to create a European Super League, defying condemnation of the project across the rest of the continent.
That includes the opponents at Wembley this weekend, with Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke repeatedly stressing that his club will have no chance of a Super League.
An initial attempt to launch a closed breakaway league in 2021 failed just days after a backlash from fans, governments and gaming authorities.
But Superliga fans already scored a victory this week when a Madrid court found that the governing bodies of FIFA and UEFA had “abused their dominant position” and “prevented free competition” by opposing a breakaway division .
– State-backed threat –
Real Madrid’s reasons for causing an earthquake in European football may seem confusing.
Los Blancos have won the Champions League five times in the last 10 years.
At the same time, they managed to modernize the 85,000-capacity Santiago Bernabeu into a world-class stadium and continue to be a must-see destination for the best players on the planet.
Jude Bellingham was signed from Dortmund 12 months ago for a fee in excess of 100 million euros ($108 million), despite the wealth and domestic comforts offered by Premier League clubs to the England international.
Kylian Mbappe is expected to complete his move to the Spanish capital in the coming days after turning his back on Qatari-funded Paris Saint-Germain.
Real Madrid’s aura in the Champions League could scare its competitors. However, within the club there is concern that its position as the most successful club in the competition could eventually be threatened without structural changes to the sport.
For the first time last season, one of European football’s state-backed projects, Abu Dhabi-backed Manchester City, lifted the Champions League – defeating Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals.
City also benefit from the billions in television revenue that is channeled into the English Premier League, which has left Europe’s other major leagues behind financially.
Dortmund feels this financial disparity even more pronounced, with a salary bill of around a third of that of Madrid.
Real topped Deloitte’s football league last season, with €831 million in revenue, compared to Dortmund’s €420 million.
– Dortmund have an ‘unbelievable’ performance –
The Germans had first-hand experience of the difficulties of competing against state-backed clubs during their fairytale run to the final for only the third time in their history.
Edin Terzic’s men defeated PSG and Saudi-backed Newcastle in the group stage before defeating the French champions once again in the semi-finals.
“It’s unbelievable,” Dortmund managing director Carsten Cramer told The Athletic of his club’s run to the final.
“We never complain about the situation and that others spend more of their budget. But when we reach a final like this, it brings even more pride to everyone at the club.
“We are competitive even if the tools and weapons we have in our hands are not the same as what others have.”
Dortmund, however, are aware of the need to make a rare final appearance count.
Their last experience at Wembley was bitter, as they lost the 2013 Champions League final to rivals Bayern Munich.
However, they can take inspiration from Atalanta, who stunned German champions Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final last week, to win their first European trophy.
“Winning with Atalanta is perhaps one of football’s fairy tales, which rarely gives space to meritocracy,” said Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini.
“It doesn’t always come down to hard numbers or Super Leagues, but it shows that teams without big budgets can achieve big things.”
Dortmund are 90 minutes away from realizing their dream, they just need to knock the kings of Europe off their thrones to do it.
kca/nf
