The Daily Mail published new details on Sunday about the agreement in principle that major European clubs have reached on the Super League. According to the paper, Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez will be chairing the new league’s organizational structure, with John W. Henry, Joel Glazer and Stan Kroenke, owners of Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal respectively, as vice-chairmen. Andrea Agnelli, president of Juventus, would also become vice-president. The deal on the Super League is expected to be officially announced at 10:30 p.m., the paper said.
In recent months, clubs have been secretly talking about the Super League. At least twelve clubs have agreed or expressed an interest in the arrival of the competition: six English clubs (Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur), three Spanish clubs (Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid) and three Italian clubs (Juventus, AC Milan and Internazionale). The new tournament should start in 2022. In the competition, the best teams on the continent would compete against each other in their own tournament, separate from the ‘smaller clubs’. The initiative goes directly against the plans that UEFA wants to present on Monday about the new format of the Champions League.
UEFA threatens to ban Super League clubs; KNVB strongly supports statement
UEFA and national football associations are strongly opposed to the plan.
According to the Daily Mail Manchester City was the last English club to say ‘yes’ on Saturday. The fierce reaction from UEFA and the national football associations, plus the fact that administrative posts have already been divided, suggests that the plans are already well advanced. The potential appointment of Agnelli is particularly striking. The current president of Juventus is a member of the UEFA executive committee and is also the leader of the European Club Association, the body that represents the European club teams. He seemed to be an ally of UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, but their ways are now emphatically parting. Ceferin would be enraged by Agnelli’s ‘betrayal’.
The Daily Mail speaks of an ‘American takeover of European elite football’, given that the American bank JPMorgan Chase would guarantee 5.3 billion euros to finance the Super League. In addition, the intended directors Henry, Glazer, and Kroenke are all American billionaires. According to the plans, the Super League will consist of roughly fifteen to eighteen clubs. Twelve potential participants are therefore already known. Space is being left for clubs such as Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain, which have so far reacted reluctantly to the plans. The Premier League board was in the process of formulating a statement about the Super League this weekend.
The league added a signature to the joint statement of UEFA, the football associations of England (FA), Spain (RFEF) and Italy (FIGC) and the league organizers in those countries (the Premier League, LaLiga and the Lega Serie A). But the Premier League also drew up its own statement, which was published on Sunday. It condemns ‘any attempt to undermine the principle of free competition and sporting merit’. “Fans of every club in England and Europe can still dream that their club can storm the top and compete against the best clubs. We believe the concept of a Super League would destroy this dream.”
In England, the news is reacted with dismay. Gary Neville, Manchester United icon, is ashamed of ‘his’ club’s part in the talks. He was present in the studio of Sky Sports during the match between Manchester United and Burnley (3-1) and called the plans ‘scandalous’. “I am not against innovations in the leagues, but I think it is an absolute scandal to make such a proposal in the midst of the corona crisis. Manchester United and the rest of the big six clubs (in England, ed.) Have joined. , should be deeply ashamed. Take away all of them points in the Premier League, because they do this in the middle of the season. It’s a complete joke. “
‘Top clubs agree on Super League: a statement very soon’
What would the new Super League look like?
The six English clubs need permission from the Premier League to participate in a new competition. The Premier League board is unlikely to cooperate. The decision is in the hands of Gary Hoffman (Chairman), Richard Masters (Managing Director) and Kevin Beeston (Director). If they disapprove of the Super League, which is likely, the clubs will have to separate from the Premier League to participate in new competitions. In doing so, they put the international career of their players at risk. After all, the UEFA statement threatened that the ‘involved clubs will be banned from any other competition, both at national and international level’ and that ‘their players may be deprived of the opportunity to play for their national team’.
The Premier League does not believe that the clubs are merely using a radical negotiating technique to get the best possible outcome on the new Champions League format. The plans are being taken so seriously that Premier League Director Masters has sent a letter to affected clubs, warning them to ‘run away … before irreparable damage is done’. “I don’t imagine any scenario where the necessary permission is granted,” he added. The Super League would “deeply damage the European football pyramid,” said Masters, hoping for support from “supporters and the English government” against the plans. “This proposal cannot succeed without English clubs and we urge any club considering joining it to walk away from the talks.”