Florentino Pérez has disrupted the sports, business, and political scenes in Spain and across Europe. After Real Madrid's trophy drought and the club’s financial crisis, the president of the "royal club" has proposed an idea that could fundamentally change the football market: making football free to watch. Sources indicate that talks with UEFA about implementing this vision are "very close to realization."

The idea was presented after a trophy-less season and a highly divided team at Santiago Bernabéu. Pérez called a press conference to announce that the club members would decide on his future in upcoming elections, considered a plebiscite. In a subsequent exclusive interview, he confirmed his views and provided new details about the future of football.

One of the key messages was about the existing television model. Pérez argues that football must be free, "as it was during last year's Club World Cup," he stated. Though this idea has been discussed for months, it was expected that Pérez would officially announce an agreement, which did not happen. Nevertheless, he confirmed that he is in talks with UEFA to make football free and accessible to everyone.

Talks with UEFA

Under the leadership of UEFA President Aleksandar Čeferin, talks to modernize European football aim to redefine the management of the sport and its audiovisual model.

Sources report that Real Madrid has agreed to withdraw a multimillion lawsuit against UEFA over its stance against the Super League, provided that the European football governing body sits down to discuss a new television model. The talks with the continental body are led by Anas Laghrari, financier, mentor of the Super League project, and key advisor to Pérez.

The model proposed by Real Madrid is based on developing a free digital service for global broadcast of matches, inspired by the "Unify" platform launched by A22, the Super League promoter. According to this vision, the business would be financed through integrated advertising, creating a more open and accessible system compared to traditional subscription and pay-per-view models.

Sources indicate that UEFA, which was previously unimaginable, is close to conceding. The top European football body has been inflexible about the distribution of audiovisual rights, but under pressure from the Super League, it has agreed to reconsider the situation.

While decades ago matches were broadcast by public television, the rise of streaming platforms and private channels has completely changed the scene. Now, it is being considered that one audiovisual company could directly broadcast all matches of the Premier League, European League, and Conference League.

Threat to Telecom Giants

However, UEFA and Real Madrid's plans are entirely at odds with the interests of large operators who hold audiovisual rights. In Spain, the owner of the rights to European football is Telefónica, which recently renewed its contracts through its platform Movistar.

The company secured broadcasts for the cycle from the 2024/2025 season to 2026/2027 for almost €960 million, then extended its dominance by renewing rights until x031 for €1.464 billion.

Telefónica usually transfers these rights to other operators, with Orange being the main buyer of LaLiga and European football packages. If UEFA and Pérez reach an agreement, the business of these companies will be seriously affected.

Telefónica and Orange base their television strategies and subscriber attraction on the broadcasting of football matches. "If football becomes accessible to everyone, it would threaten the sustainability of the television business of large telecom companies," sources from the sector state.