From Superliga War to Kissing and Making Up: Real Madrid's Remarkable UEFA Turnaround
Spanish football pundit Raúl Varela reckons Real Madrid and UEFA are suddenly best mates again — and the Prestianni case is the latest sign of that thaw.
Spanish football pundit Raúl Varela reckons the relationship between Real Madrid and UEFA has done a complete 180 — and the sanction handed to Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni is the latest, most telling sign of it.
The Prestianni Affair: Simple? Not Quite
The backdrop here is the incident at the Estádio da Luz, where Prestianni was sanctioned after the anti-racism protocol was activated following alleged insults directed at Vinícius Júnior. Varela was quick to point out this isn’t a straightforward case:
- The disciplinary process is still ongoing — UEFA’s legal machinery can be a proper grey area at the best of times
- Some Benfica supporters who behaved worse than the young Argentine winger have largely been glossed over
- Legal experts consulted on the matter apparently came back with wildly different interpretations
But here’s the practical upshot for Madrid: the player who is, as yet, neither guilty nor innocent in any final sense, misses the match. Varela described that bluntly as a “1-0” from a competitive standpoint — before a ball’s even been kicked. Not bad going.
The Bigger Picture: A New Romance
This is where Varela’s analysis gets properly interesting. He’s not just talking about one disciplinary case — he’s talking about a genuine institutional shift in how Real Madrid and UEFA are getting along these days.
Cast your mind back to the Superliga fallout. Florentino Pérez was public enemy number one in European football’s corridors of power. Critics were queuing up to say he’d bottled it in front of UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin. Varela isn’t buying any of that narrative — and he’s having a good old laugh at the people who were.
His point is essentially: nobody in football at this level does anything without a reason. Every move is calculated. “Nobody sews without thread” is how he put it — and that’s a fair shout.
Florentino’s Bumpy Road
Varela’s not entirely letting the Real Madrid president off the hook, mind. He acknowledges Florentino has taken a few knocks lately:
- The new shareholder model has been delayed with no clear date
- Sporting planning across the club’s sections hasn’t exactly justified the summer overhaul in dugouts and dressing rooms
- Internal dissent is apparently bubbling up in various parts of the club
There’s a sense, Varela suggests, that not everyone is fully on board with where things are heading. A bit of a mixed picture at the Bernabéu, off the pitch at least.
Win-Win All Round (Except Prestianni)
Despite all that, Varela’s conclusion is that the current Madrid-UEFA détente suits both parties down to the ground:
- More games and more revenue in the Champions League
- A counterweight to the growing threat of FIFA’s Club World Cup under Gianni Infantino
- Space to develop new broadcasting models
- Far fewer costly legal battles
It’s a classic case of old enemies finding common ground because the alternative is worse for everyone involved. Varela called it a “First Dates” moment — a second-chance romance that’s working out nicely.
The one bloke not feeling the love? Poor Prestianni, who’s sitting out a crucial European tie while the suits shake hands and move on.
Source: MARCA / Radio MARCA