Super League? A pointless project, says Čeferin. UEFA president takes on former Croatian star at congress

Aleksander Čeferin will retire as president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) in 2027, he announced to everyone’s surprise at the last congress in Paris. The reason for this, in his own words, are the nonsensical projects regarding the Super League.

This was probably not what anyone expected. The current UEFA president announced at the recent congress in Paris that he will step down from his role in 2027. However, just minutes before his surprise announcement, the congress offered him a fourth candidacy.

And for one main reason. That’s because Čeferin did not serve the full length of his first term when he took up the post in 2016 following Platini’s departure.

Meanwhile, the current UEFA boss himself introduced a measure limiting top managers to a maximum of three terms in office. Čeferin has received quite massive criticism for this in recent months, as everyone was expecting just his fourth bid.

He mentioned several reasons why he will leave the UEFA president’s seat at the age of fifty-six. Among the first ones, however, he pointed to the time he spent away from his family.

However, Čeferin also revealed that, in his own words, a lot of his energy was consumed by “pointless” projects regarding the Super League.

Čeferin not only talked about the Super League, he also took on Zvonimir Boban

However, the current head of the European Football Union also verbally attacked Zvonimir Boban at the congress. He resigned as UEFA’s director of football development at the end of January in protest at the possible extension of Čeferin’s mandate.

“I decided six months ago that I would not run again in 2027. Every organisation needs fresh blood after a while, but the main reason is that I have been away from my family for seven years and I will be for another three. I am also tired of the coronary period, of two wars, of nonsensical projects like the so-called Super League,” said Čeferin at the UEFA Congress, quoted by Sky Sports.

“Now just two sentences about the self-proclaimed moral authority. The person you know I am talking about does not deserve a comment from me. But people who know him and me will make up their own minds. Just one thing about his pathetic rant about morality. He was one of the people who knew I wasn’t planning to run in 2027. The moment he had the information that I was going to make it public after the convention, he blurted out his narcissistic letter.

He couldn’t wait because after my refusal to run again, his whining would be pointless. So think about it – whose personal aspirations and morals are being questioned?” said Čeferin.

Source: Sky Sports, BBC, The Guardian