Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis, 74, claims football is ‘managed by old people with no vision’ after Super League verdict… as he calls for Serie A to be replaced with ‘Serie E’

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has claimed Serie A should be replaced with an elite league called ‘Serie E’ as he backed calls for significant changes within European football.

The European Court of Justice’s ruled on Thursday that UEFA and FIFA had acted in contravention of EU competition law in sanctioning the rebel European Super League clubs.

The landmark decision came after the governing bodies threatened clubs with sanctions after 12 teams attempted to form a breakaway Super League in April 2021.

Barcelona and Real Madrid are the only remaining teams backing the project, with the remaining clubs having withdrawn.

Clubs from across Europe have distanced themselves from a revamped Super League since the verdict on Thurday, but De Laurentiis has thrown his support behind the ruling.

De Laurentiis said he had held talks with Real Madrid boss Florentino Perez, left, as he claimed football is currently managed by ‘old people who have no vision’

The Napoli president’s comments come after the European Court of Justice’s ruling on the Super League case on Thursday

Reigning Serie A champions Napoli were not among the clubs involved in the 2021 breakaway, with De Laurentiis telling Italian newspaper Il Corriere dello Sport he had not been convinced by the project.

De Laurentiis, however, revealed he had held talks with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez about leading changes in European football, insisting FIFA and UEFA are currently led by ‘old people who have no vision’. 

‘UEFA and FIFA’s dominant position which has been censored by Europe, has been used to give benefits in return for support,’ said De Laurentiis, 74.

‘Those who have ruled until now as monopolists have not understood that football is a business that needs growing revenue.

‘The Super League was a wrong move which, however, led to a change. Now we need some serious thought.

‘I’ve spoken to Florentino [Perez] and we’ve agreed that we’ll put some real businessmen around a table. Today’s football is managed by old people who have no vision.’

De Laurentiis has also controversially suggested that Serie A should be replaced with Serie E – with the ‘E’ standing for elite.

The Napoli president claimed only teams from major cities would be able to feature in the league.

The Napoli president has suggested his team should play in a new division called Serie E, which would only feature ‘elite’ clubs from Italy’s largest cities

He cited the examples of Serie B clubs Palermo and Bari, who are outside Italy’s top flight despite being from the fifth and ninth most populated cities in Italy.

Palermo is reportedly home to an estimated 630,000 people, while Bari has a population of around 316,000.

‘We have teams in Serie A that are from cities with 20,000 citizens, they don’t even sell 10,000 tickets per game,’ De Laurentiis said.

‘Seven or eight clubs dominate the league, so just add seven more with the same ambitions and we can do an elite league with 14 clubs.

‘Then, two Serie A groups with 20 teams. The rest is amateur football and can be used as a youth sector.’

Juventus, Inter Milan and AC Milan were the three Italian sides initially included to feature in the Super League project before withdrawing.

Serie A leaders Inter Milan have confirmed their opposition to the European Super League

Inter Milan have reiterated their opposition to the Super League in a statement on Thursday.

‘FC Internazionale Milano reiterates its position that European football’s future well-being can only be secured by clubs working together through the ECA, in partnership and collaboration with UEFA and FIFA,’ a club statement read.

‘As a Club, we remain committed to the values that underpin the European Sports Model and to working through the ECA alongside our fellow clubs to uphold those values.’

AC Milan and Juventus are yet to comment publicly on the European Court of Justice ruling.