European Super League collapse explained: What’s next? Real Madrid, Barcelona quiet; Premier League clubs out

European soccer used to be rocked by the biggest story in a minimum of a generation on Sunday when 12 of Europe’s biggest clubs announced plans to break absent from the established soccer order and form a Super League. The plan used to be in the long run short-lived after the rogue breakaway group missing the backing of all six Premier League clubs on Tuesday followed by more clubs leaving the project Wednesday. 

On Tuesday night, the Super League used to be put on pause to “reconsider the most appropriate steps to reshape the project,” effectively ending a 48-hour power play to leave UEFA, the governing body for European soccer. Real Madrid and Barcelona were the only clubs left standing without releasing a remark to their fans on the collapse of the Super League plans.

Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli, one of the crucial founding members of the failed Super League project, told Reuters on Wednesday he “remained convinced of the wonderful thing about that project, but admittedly … I intent, I don’t believe that that project is now still up and running.”

The Super League issued the following remark Tuesday night, promising to reconsider its plans to reshape the sport in Europe: 

The European Super League is convinced that the current status quo of European football needs to change.

We are proposing a new European competition because the existing system does not work. Our proposal is aimed at allowing the sport to evolve while generating resources and stability for the full football pyramid, including helping to conquer the financial difficulties experienced by all of the football community because of the pandemic. It would also supply materially enhanced solidarity payments to all football stakeholders.

Despite the announced departure of the English clubs, forced to take such decisions due the pressure out on them, we are convinced our proposal is fully aligned with European law and regulations as used to be demonstrated today by a court decision to give protection to the Super League from third party actions.

Provided the current circumstances, we will reconsider the most appropriate steps to reshape the project, all the time having in brain our goals of offering fans the most efficient experience conceivable while enhancing solidarity payments for all of the football community.  

The basics on the deal struck before the fallout? A group of 12 clubs from across Europe’s biggest leagues announced plans to form a new competition called the Super League. The league had plans to offer permanent spots to one of the crucial world’s biggest clubs and play matches midweek, while allowing the involved clubs to remain in their domestic competitions. The plan used to be objected by FIFA, the governing body for international soccer, and UEFA.

Here is what we realize so far:

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In a stunning turn of events, Chelsea became the first team to back out of their Super League deal, CBS Sports insider James Benge confirmed. Manchester City made an announcement soon thereafter, and the other four Premier League clubs followed suit Tuesday night. The sudden reversals were the first dominoes to fall as the breakaway group’s chances of success plummeted and also ended hypothesis approximately if their Champions League semifinal run in this season’s tournament can continue.

Craving more coverage of the Super League drama? Listen below and follow ¡Qué Golazo! A Day-to-day CBS Soccer Podcast where we take you beyond the pitch and all over the world for an emergency episode.

What used to be the original Super League plan?

The Super League used to be a long-discussed idea for a closed competition that would feature Europe’s biggest clubs. Through the years, there have been many different theoretical proposals for what that league would seem like. On Sunday, 12 clubs announced their intention to break absent from UEFA and form their own league. They had plans to add three more permanent members and leave five spots open in the 20-team format that European clubs could qualify for from across Europe’s domestic competitions.

Which teams were to begin with involved?

Here are the 12 teams who were to begin with listed as founding members:

Real Madrid: Real Madrid have not yet made any public statements. They are one of the crucial two clubs left standing. President Florentino Perez, who used to be named president of the Super League, said the financial loss from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic used to be a part of the chief reason why he chose to team up with other top clubs to break absent. Perez, who spoke to Spanish TV personality Josep Pedrerol on El Chiringuito TV, revealed that the Super League do not have been “closed” and would have eventually built a pyramid format for others to enroll in. 

“The important clubs of Spain, England and Italy have to find a solution to this very naughty situation that football is in,” Perez said. “We came to a conclusion that by creating a Super League, instead of playing Champions League midweek, we will alleviate missing revenue.

“Football needs to evolve, like life does … Soccer needs to adapt to the times we are living in. Football is losing interest … Something should be done and the pandemic hastened that. We are all ruined.

“Instead of playing the Champions [League] as it is, which is losing interest, now we should find something enticing which is to play amongst the big clubs. We are at a critical moment. Fifteen teams generate value, and five other teams will make the Super League through sporting merit. It isn’t a closed league. We consider in the merit of teams in order that they fight to deserve to play in a competition like this.”

Barcelona: Even supposing recent-elected club president Joan Laporta has not made his stance public, on Wednesday, his manager Ronald Koeman said he has the same opinion with Gerard Pique’s tweet Tuesday night that “football belongs to the fans.”

“The president called me the previous day, we spoke and he explained the Super League issue to me. I do not know whether he has spoken approximately it with the players,” Koeman said. “I don’t wish to speak a lot approximately this issue but I am in agreement with Pique’s tweet.”  

Manchester City (have asked out): “Manchester City Football Club can confirm that it has formally enacted the procedures to withdraw from the group developing plans for a European Super League.”

Chelsea (have asked out): “As reported earlier this evening, Chelsea Football Club can confirm that it has begun the formal procedures for withdrawal from the group developing plans for a European Super League. Having joined the group late final week, we have now had time to believe the matter fully and have determined that our continued participation in these plans would not be in the most efficient interests of the Club, our supporters or the wider football community.”

Manchester United (have asked out): “Over the last few days, we have all witnessed the great ardour which football generates, and the deep loyalty our fans have for this great club,” club owner Joel Glazer said in an open letter.

“You made very lucid your opposition to the European Super League, and we have listened. We got it unsuitable, and we wish to show that we will put things correct.

“Even supposing the wounds are uncooked and I remember that it is going to take time for the scars to heal, I am personally dedicated to rebuilding believe with our fans and learning from the message you delivered with such conviction.

“We continue to consider that European football needs to change into more sustainable all the way through the pyramid for the long-term. Alternatively, we fully accept that the Super League used to be not the correct way to go approximately it.

“In seeking to create a more steady foundation for the game, we failed to show enough respect for its deep-rooted traditions -promotion, relegation, the pyramid – and for that we are sorry.”

Liverpool (have asked out): “I wish to apologize to all of the fans and supporters of Liverpool Football Club for the disruption I caused over the last 48 hours,” John W. Henry said in a video message on Wednesday.

“It goes without saying but will have to be said that the project put forward used to be never going to stand without the strengthen of the fans. No-one ever thought in a different way in England. Over these 48 hours, you were very lucid that it would not stand. We heard you. I heard you.

“And I wish to apologize to Jurgen [Klopp], to [CEO] Billy [Hogan], to the players and to everyone who works so tough at LFC to make our fans proud. They have got absolutely no responsibility for this disruption. They were the most disrupted, and unfairly so. This is what hurts most. They love your club and work to make you proud each unmarried day.”

Arsenal (have asked out): “The previous few days have shown us yet again the depth of feeling our supporters around the globe have for this great club and the game we love,” the club said in an open letter to its supporters.

“We needed no reminding of this but the response from supporters in recent days has provided us time for further reflection and deep thought.

“It used to be never our intention to bring such misery, alternatively when the invitation to enroll in the Super League came, while knowing there were no guarantees, we did not wish to be left bottom to verify we secure Arsenal and its future.

“Because of listening to you and the wider football community over recent days we are withdrawing from the proposed Super League. We made a mistake, and we apologize for it.

“We realize it is going to take time to restore your faith in what we are trying to reach here at Arsenal but let us be lucid that the decision to be a part of the Super League used to be driven by our desire to give protection to Arsenal, the club you love, and to strengthen the game you love through greater solidarity and financial stability.”

Tottenham Hotspur (have asked out): “We remorse the anxiety and upset caused by the ESL proposal. We felt it used to be important that our club participated in the development of a conceivable new constitution that sought to better ensure financial reasonable play and financial sustainability whilst delivering significantly increased strengthen for the wider football pyramid,” chairman Daniel Levy said.

“We consider that we will have to never stand still and that the sport will have to constantly review competitions and governance to verify the game we all love continues to evolve and excite fans around the globe.

“We will have to like to thank all those supporters who presented their thought to be opinions.”

Atletico Madrid (have asked out): “Atlético de Madrid’s Board of Directors, which met on Wednesday morning, has determined to formally communicate to the Super League and the remainder of the founding clubs its decision not to in any case formalize its adhesion to the project.

“Atlético de Madrid took the decision on Monday to enroll in the project because of circumstances that no longer exist today.

“For the club, concord between all of the groups that make up the Red & White circle of relatives, particularly our fans, is very important.

“The first team squad and the coach have expressed their satisfaction with the club’s decision, as they remember that sporting merits should prevail over any other criteria.”

Inter Milan (have asked out): “FC Internazionale Milano confirm that the club is no longer a part of the Super League project.

“We are all the time dedicated to giving fans the most efficient football experience; innovation and inclusion are a part of our DNA since our foundation. Our engagement with all stakeholders to support the football industry will never change.

“Inter believes that football, like each sector of activity, should have an interest in constantly making improvements to its competitions, to retain on exciting fans of every age around the globe, inside a framework of financial sustainability.

“With this vision we look forward to carry on working along with institutions and all stakeholders for the way forward for the sport we all love.”

AC Milan (reportedly out, but noncommittal in remark): “We accepted the invitation to take part in the Super League project with the genuine intention to deliver the most efficient conceivable European competition for football fans around the globe and in the most efficient interest of the club and our own fans. Change isn’t all the time easy, but evolution is essential for progress, and the structures of European football have evolved and changed over the decades.

“Alternatively, the voices and the concerns of fans around the globe have clearly been expressed approximately the Super League, and AC Milan should be touchy to the voice of those who love this wonderful sport.

“We will be able to continue to work tough to deliver a sustainable mannequin for football.”

Juventus (reportedly out, but noncommittal in remark): “On the subject of the press release published by Juventus Football Club S.p.A. on 19 April 2021, on the subject of the proposed creation of the Super League, and the ensuing public debate, the issuer clarifies to concentrate on the request and intentions another way expressed by sure clubs to withdraw from this project, even supposing the essential procedures envisaged by the agreement some of the clubs have not been completed.

“In this context, while Juventus remains convinced of the soundness of the project’s sport, commercial and valid premises, it believes that at present there are limited chances that the project be completed in the form originally conceived.

“Juventus remains dedicated to pursuing the creation of long-term value for the Company and all of the football industry.”

Which notable teams were not included?

Paris Saint-Germain: “Paris Saint-Germain holds the firm belief that football is a game for everyone. I have been consistent on this since the very beginning. As a football club, we are a circle of relatives and a community; whose material is our fans — I consider we shouldn’t fail to remember this,” said Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the head of Qatar Sports Investments, which owns and operates PSG, and also holds a seat in the UEFA executive committee.

”There’s a lucid wish to advance the existing UEFA competition mannequin, presented by UEFA the previous day and concluding 24 months of extensive and collaborative consultation across the whole European football landscape. We consider that any proposal without the strengthen of UEFA — an association that has been working to progress the interests of European football for just about 70 years — does not unravel the issues currently facing the football community, but is instead driven by self-interest. Paris Saint-Germain will continue to work with UEFA, the European Club Organization (ECA) and all stakeholders of the football circle of relatives — based on the principles of good faith, dignity and respect for all.”  

FC Bayern Munich: “Our members and fans reject a Super League,” club president Herbert Hainer said. “As FC Bayern, it is our wish and our aim that European clubs live the wonderful and emotional competition that’s the Champions League, and develop it along with UEFA. FC Bayern says no to the Super League.”

“On behalf of the board, I wish to make it explicitly lucid that FC Bayern is probably not taking part in the Super League,” said CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who has taken Juventus president Andrea Agnelli’s seat at ECA and is expected to do the same at UEFA.  “FC Bayern stands in solidarity with the Bundesliga. It all the time used to be and is a smart pleasure for us so that you can play and represent Germany in the Champions League. We all take note fondly our 2020 Champions League victory in Lisbon – you do not fail to remember any such joyful moment. For FC Bayern, the Champions League is the most efficient club competition on this planet.”

Borussia Dortmund: ”The board members of the European Club Organization (ECA) came together for a virtual assembly on Sunday evening, where it used to be agreed that the board’s decision from final Friday still stands,” Dortmund chief executive officer Hans Joachim Watzke said. “This decision dictates that every one clubs need to execute the proposed reforms to the UEFA Champions League. The ECA board members took a lucid stance in rejecting plans for the establishment of a Super League.”

RB Leipzig: “We are advocates of sporting competition. And sporting competition in professional football means fighting to reach a position in the domestic league table that allows the team to participate in international competition. For us, changing this is absolutely out of the question,” Leipzig CEO Oliver Mintzlaff said. “We reject any plans to set up a Super League.”

Borussia Monchengladbach: “This Super League is a club for the super rich, who are flouting the long-established constitution of football. It is an attack on UEFA’s club competitions, but above all on the domestic leagues,” Stephan Schippers (CEO) and Max Eberl (sporting director) said in a remark. “It is cynical and hypocritical to claim that this move is for the good of football and is what football fans want, as those bottom this league are doing. We will be proud that all the German clubs have objected this league, and we can fight to make certain that those clubs involved are expelled from all competitions both domestically and internationally.”

West Ham: “West Ham United shared its views and those of its supporters expressing vehement opposition to the proposal for a Super League at a Premier League assembly held on Tuesday morning.

“Following a assembly between senior club officials and the independent supporters’ committee inside 24 hours of the news breaking, vice-chairman Karren Brady met with representatives from 13 other Premier League clubs to share the Hammers’ unequivocally strong disapproval of a proposal by six clubs to create a breakaway league that undermines our values and those of the game we all hold so dear.

“As a club that used to be founded by working-class shipbuilders over 125 years ago, is deeply rooted in its own community and is acutely aware of the traditions of English football, we passionately consider that there will have to be no barrier to supporting West Ham United and these proposals go entirely against the integrity of our beautiful game.”

Everton: “Everton is saddened and disappointed to see proposals of a breakaway league pushed forward by six clubs,” the board of directors said in a remark. “Six clubs acting entirely in their own interests. Six clubs tarnishing the repute of our league and the game. Six clubs choosing to disrespect each other club with whom they sit down around the Premier League table. Six clubs taking without any consideration and even betraying the majority of football supporters across our country and beyond.

“Presently of national and international crisis – and a defining period for our game – clubs will have to be working together collaboratively with the ideals of our game and its supporters uppermost. Instead, these clubs have been secretly conspiring to break absent from a football pyramid that has served them so timely.”

Sevilla: The winners of final season’s Europa League, expressed their “outright rejection of a tournament based exclusively on economic parameters and outdoor the scope of action of UEFA.” More from the remark sent out by their board of directors on Monday: “The creation of this Super League would only serve to harm football in general and the remainder of the teams. At the same time, it would severely hit society and punish the huge majority of real football fans, who would be left without the true essence of the sport: The phantasm of enjoying their team and seeing it compete for the highest aspirations.”

Lyon: Olympique Lyonnais president Jean-Michel Aulas took to Twitter to observe publicly that “the Super League does not obtain popular strengthen as it highlights the virtues of money over the spirit of reasonable play” and expressed his hope that “we should build bridges, not walls, along with (PSG Chairman and CEO) Nasser (Al-Khelaifi) for a future football where sporting meritocracy and emotion isn’t forgotten.”  

Lille: “What is important is the unity that we found on the subject, between vinaigrette clubs,” said club president Olivier Létang, whose club sits atop the Ligue 1 table. “It kind of feels difficult to me that those who have performed timely on the field do not participate in competitions. We are touching on what makes the essence of sport.

“It isn’t essential to take a personal position,” said Létang, via RFI. “But we aren’t used to the precept of a closed league in Europe. We are used to meritocracy.”

Marseille: “As an American who has had the privilege of running and owning clubs on both continents, I have learned that the culture of sport in Europe is very different from that of america and should be respected. In Europe, the system isn’t based on the centralization of power and gratification in the hands of a couple of. Of class lesson, we need to find a trade mannequin that is sustainable and this requires changes. This is the effort undertaken by UEFA, which we strengthen,” club owner Frank McCourt said.

“This isn’t the time to break this mannequin. It’s the moment to become it while remaining true to the essential values of European football culture.

“All of us at Olympique de Marseille are firmly objected to the proposals made by some clubs to create a European Super League.”

AS Roma: “AS Roma is strongly objected to this ‘closed’ system, as it fundamentally flies in the face of the spirit of the game that we all love,” the club said in a remark. “Some things are more important than money, and we remain firmly dedicated to Italian football on a domestic level, and to reasonable, open European competitions for all. We look forward to continuing to work with Lega Serie A, the Italian Federation, ECA and UEFA to grow and develop the game of football in Italy and around the globe. 

“Fans and grassroots football are at the core of our sport, and this should never be forgotten.”

FC Porto: “There were casual contacts from some clubs, but we did not pay much attention for two reasons,” club president Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa said. “First, the European Union does not allow a closed circuit of evidence as there is in the NBA. Second, since our organization is against this and a part of UEFA, inside this framework, we cannot participate in anything that is against the rules of the European Union and UEFA. Whether that goes forward, and I have my doubts, UEFA will not end and will continue to have evidence, the evidence that is official.”

AFC Ajax: “Ajax are totally taken aback and disappointed by the announcement of a conceivable Super League. We strengthen the new set-up proposed by UEFA, as confirmed on Monday,” the team announced on social media.

Leeds United: Players called out the Super League on shirts worn before Monday’s match against Liverpool, one of the crucial founding Super League clubs. The shirts read “Football is for the fans” on the back and “Champions League: Earn it” on the front. 

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Who used to be in charge of the Super League?

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez used to be named as head chairman of the project. He used to be to begin with supported by two vice-chairmen. The full list:

Chairman: Florentino Perez (Real Madrid)Vice-chairman: Andrea Agnelli (Juventus)Vice-chairman: Joel Glazer (Manchester United)
What approximately the financial backing?

The estimated earnings for would-be fixtures signing up to the proposed Super League were set for a minimum of $425 million. Every of the would-be permanent members of the proposed Super League are being promised €350 million ($425 million) to enroll, according to documents obtained by the New York Times. 

JP Morgan Chase & Co. were reportedly approached to bring financing for the project that has seen FIFA back UEFA by threatening to ban any players involved in any such league from future World Cup competition.

Weren’t there plans to reformat the Champions League?

UEFA and the ECA on Monday released the finalized version of an up to date format to the Champions League this season, switching the tournament to a “Swiss Mannequin.”

Gone are the days of six group-stage games. Instead, UEFA plans to expand from 32 to 36 participants and have each and every play 10 group stage games, five home and five absent. This shift produces over 100 new matches. We would still see a pretty similar knockout stage in comparison to this current season. The big difference is that the winner of the competition would have played a minimum of 17 matches versus 13 under the current format.

Latest UEFA news

UEFA wrapped up its election held for positions on UEFA executive committee and FIFA council in Montreux, Switzerland, and the 55 member associations unanimously approved a declaration strongly condemning the Super League on Tuesday. FIFA president Gianni Infantino, a former UEFA general secretary, used to be in attendance and warned the 12 breakaway clubs that they could not be “half in, half out.”

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, who earlier this week called those execs involved in breakaway plans “snakes” and a “spit in the face of football lovers,” declared European soccer’s governing body as “unbeatable” when allied with FIFA before challenging the Premier League’s big six to make the difference.

“For some, supporters have change into consumers, fans have change into customers and competitions have change into products,” Ceferin said. “Selfishness is replacing solidarity. Money has change into more important than glory, greed more important than loyalty, and dividends more important than ardour.”  

On Monday, in a fiery press convention, Ceferin, the UEFA president, emphasized the potential consequences for players participating in the league. “The players that will play in the Super League will be banned from playing in the World Cup and Euros. 

“They are going to not be allowed to play for their national teams,” Ceferin said while also calling on teams participating in the Super League to be banned from all UEFA competitions.

UEFA has taken a hardline stance against the proposed Super League. On Sunday as news of the conceivable breakaway occurred, Europe’s governing soccer body released the following remark:

“Whether this were to happen, we need to reiterate that we — UEFA, the English FA, RFEF, FIGC, the Premier League, La Liga, Lega Serie A, but also FIFA and all our member associations — will remain united in our efforts to stop this cynical project, a project that is founded on the self-interest of a couple of clubs at a time when society needs solidarity more than ever, UEFA said in a remark. 

“We will be able to believe all measures to be had to us, at all levels, both judicial and sporting to be able to prevent this happening. Football is based on open competitions and sporting merit; it cannot be any other way.

“As in the past announced by FIFA and the six Federations, the clubs concerned will be banned from playing in any other competition at domestic, European or world level, and their players could be denied the possibility to indicate their national teams.

“We call on all lovers of football, supporters and politicians, to enroll in us in fighting against any such project whether it were to be announced. This persistent self-interest of a couple of has been going on for too long. Enough is enough.”

Latest FIFA news

Back in January, FIFA announced it would ban clubs and players from participating in domestic and international competitions whether they were to enroll in a breakaway league. On Tuesday FIFA president Gianni Infantino addressed the UEFA Congress and strongly condemned the actions taken by the breakaway clubs. Here is what he had to say.

FIFA is a company which is built on values, the true values of sport. It is a company that is built on our statutes, the statutes that define the institutional framework, with the pyramid, with FIFA, the confederations, the associations, the leagues, the clubs, the players. And at FIFA, we will only strongly disapprove the creation of a super league which is a closed shop, which is a breakaway from the current institutions, from the leagues, from the associations, from UEFA and from FIFA, which is outdoor of the system. There is not any doubt whatsoever of FIFA’s disapproval for this.

Latest Premier League and English soccer news

The Premier league issued the following remark on Tuesday.

The Premier League, alongside The FA, met with clubs today to speak about the instant implications of the Super League proposal.

The 14 clubs at the assembly unanimously and vigorously rejected the plans for the competition.

The Premier League is thinking about all actions to be had to prevent it from progressing, in addition to holding those Shareholders involved to account under its rules. 

The League will continue to work with key stakeholders including fan groups, Government, UEFA, The FA, EFL, PFA and LMA to give protection to the most efficient interests of the game and call on those clubs involved in the proposed competition to cease their involvement immediately.  

The Premier League wish to thank fans and all stakeholders for the strengthen they have got shown this week on this remarkable issue.

The reaction proves just how much our open pyramid and football community means to people.

Along with the joint remark sent out by the major federations in Europe, the Premier League also issued a remark condemning plans from their big six on Sunday.

“The Premier League condemns any proposal that attacks the principles of open competition and sporting merit which are at the heart of the domestic and European football pyramid. Fans of any club in England and across Europe can currently dream that their team may climb to the top and play against the most efficient. We consider that the idea that of a European Super League would destroy this dream.”

Here is what the FA said:

“The FA has been made aware of sure English clubs planning to form a closed European Super League with other European Clubs. It is lucid that this would be damaging to English and European football at all levels and will attack the principles of open competition and sporting merit which are essential to competitive sport.

“For new competitions to be formed involving clubs from different associations, approval would be required from the applicable National Associations, confederation and/or FIFA. We would not supply permission to any competition that would be damaging to English football, and will take any valid and/or regulatory action essential to give protection to the broader interests of the game.

Latest news from other European soccer leagues

The Spanish league chimed in on Monday:

“LaLiga strongly condemns the recently published proposal for a breakaway, elitist European competition that attacks the principles of open competition and sporting merit which are at the heart of the domestic and European football pyramid. 

“Today football fans across Europe can dream that their club, no matter the size, may excel, climb to the top and compete at the pinnacle of European football. LaLiga defends this European tradition of football for all. The concept that proposed by 12 European clubs destroys that dream, shutting the door to the top of European football, allowing in just an elite few…

“The newly proposed top European competition is nothing more than a egocentric, egotistical proposal designed to further enrich the already super rich. It’s going to undermine the appeal of the whole game and have a deeply damaging affect on the instant and future of LaLiga, its member clubs, and all of the entire footballing ecosystem.

Apart from the Royal Spanish Football Federation chiming in with UEFA and the top European domestic leagues, La Liga president Javier Tebas lashed out at the breakaway plans, which entail three Spanish clubs: Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.

“At final, the ‘gurus’ of the ‘powerpoint’ super league, inebriated with selfishness and lack of solidarity, are going to leave the ‘5 o’clock bar,’ from the ‘underground,'” Tebas tweeted. “UEFA, the European leagues and La Liga have been working at this for a very long time and they’ll get their due answer.”  

Serie A clubs met Monday to speak about the Super League and Juventus, Inter Milan and AC Milan — Italian participants of the Super League — were surprise participants. The three breakaway clubs expressed their intentions of staying in Serie A while also participating in the Super League, Romano reports.   

Latest ECA news

The ECA executive board met again on Monday to form an executive committee “to work under the auspices of the executive board to administer day by day work throughout this transitional period.” 

Agnelli, who used to be the ECA chairman, has now resigned from his seat to enroll in the Super League. Rummenigge, Bayern’s CEO, has taken Agnelli’s seat at ECA and is expected to do the same at UEFA.

Here are the board members in the committee: 

Nasser Al-Khelaifi (Paris Saint-Germain)Michael Gerlinger (FC Bayern Munich)Edwin van der Sar (AFC Ajax)Dariusz Mioduski (Legia Warsaw)Aki Riihilahti (HJK Helsinki)Michele Centenaro (Independent member)

Here’s more from ECA, via a remark sent out on Monday:

The Board used to be unanimous in its condemnation of the actions of the departing members, which it holds to be self-serving and to the detriment of the game’s well-being and in lucid opposition to ECA’s values. We consider that European Club Football will also be reformed from inside the system to reach the collective best interests of all stakeholders in the game. The Board reiterated ECA’s lucid position as the only legal and fully recognized voice of the leading clubs in Europe and, as such, has taken quite a few decisions to make certain that it is in a position to continue to perform its role efficiently and effectively.  

How did the Super League format seem like?

The Super League would have been a 20-team league made up of 15 permanent members with the remaining five members of the league comprised of teams which qualified through domestic European League competition. The 20 teams would have competed in two groups of 10 teams each and every with a balanced schedule of home and absent matches against each team in the group. 

The top three finishers in each and every group would’ve qualified for the quarterfinals, while the fourth- and fifth-place finishers would have played in a two-legged play-in round to qualify for the knockout stages. Then a two-legged knockout format would have been used to play down to the finals, which would have been a unmarried match to crown a champion.  

From the Super League announcement:

20 participating clubs with 15 Founding Clubs and a qualifying mechanism for a further five teams to qualify once a year based on achievements in the prior season.Midweek fixtures with all participating clubs continuing to compete in their respective national leagues, preserving the traditional domestic match calendar which remains at the heart of the club game.An August start with clubs participating in two groups of 10, playing home and absent fixtures, with the top three in each and every group automatically qualifying for the quarterfinals. Teams finishing fourth and fifth will then compete in a two-legged play-off for the remaining quarterfinal positions. A two-leg knockout format will be used to achieve the last at the end of May, which will be staged as a unmarried fixture at a impartial venue. What would this intent for women’s soccer?

On Sunday, Paris Saint-Germain turned in a come-from-behind effort to slay five-time winner Lyon in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Women’s Champions League. PSG sign up for Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Chelsea in the semifinal round. Whether a breakaway league had been formed, a minimum of two semifinalists would have been in a new competition. The Super League had promised to start play the shortly after the start of the men’s breakaway league.

“As soon as practicable after the start of the men’s competition, a corresponding women’s league can also be launched, helping to advance and develop the women’s game,” according to the announcement from the Super League.

Latest comments from players, coaches, execs

Pep Guardiola, Manchester City coach: “It isn’t sport whether it isn’t important whether you lose.” More on his comments here.

Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool coach: “An important a part of football are the supporters and the team, and we need to be sure that actually nothing gets in between them.”

Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea coach: “I’m here to be in the hardest competition, that’s why I came here, that is what I love, to play in the toughest competitions in Europe. That’s why I’m at Chelsea.” More on his comments here.

Andrea Pirlo, Juventus coach: “Evaluations have been made approximately the Super League, but I would not have to speak about it. We are self-assured because we have a state-of-the-art president [Andrea Agnelli] who can give an explanation for these things and it is correct for him to take action.”

James Milner, Liverpool vice-captain: “I don’t find it irresistible and I are not looking for it to happen.”

Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United: “Dreams can’t be [bought],” the club’s leading scorer for this season said, via Instagram. 

Ander Herrera, PSG midfielder: “I love football and I can’t remain silent approximately this … I consider in an improved Champions League, but not in the rich stealing what the people created.

Mesut Ozil, ex-Arsenal star: “Kids grow up dreaming to win the World Cup and the Champions League — not any Super League. The enjoyment of big games is that they only happen a few times a year, not each week. In reality tough to understand for all football fans in the market.”  

Gary Neville, Manchester United ex-captain: It’s “an absolute shame” … the club owners are “bottle merchants” motivated by “pure greed.”

Neville added throughout Sky Sports’ broadcast of the Premier League:

“I am not against the modernization of football competitions, we have the Premier League, we have the Champions League.  

“But to cause forward proposals in the middle of COVID, in the middle of the economic crisis that exists for all clubs is an absolute scandal. United and the remainder of the big six clubs that have signed up to it against the remainder of the Premier League will have to be embarrassed about themselves. Are Arsenal in that? They have got just drawn with Fulham, Manchester United are drawing with Burnley. … To enroll to the Super League throughout a season is a prank, they will have to deduct points off all six of them.”  

Sir Alex Ferguson, legendary Manchester United coach: “Talk of a Super League is a move absent from 70 years of European club football,” Ferguson told Reuters. “Both as a player for a provincial team Dunfermline in the 60s and as a manager at Aberdeen winning the European Cup Winners’ Cup, for a small provincial club in Scotland it used to be like climbing Mount Everest. Everton are spending £500 million to build a new stadium with the ambition to play in Champions League. Fans everywhere love the competition as it is. In my time at United, we played in four Champions League finals and they were all the time the most special of nights. I am not certain Manchester United are involved in this, as It’s not that i am a part of the decision making process. With many fans, we are concerned that this plan could create a closed shop at the very top of our national game.”

Luis Figo, ex-Sporting, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter Milan star: This so-called “Super League” is anything but “Super,” Figo chimed in on Twitter on Monday. “This grasping and callous move would spell catastrophe for our grassroots, for women’s football, and the wider football community only to serve self-interested owners, who stopped caring approximately their fans long ago, and total omit for sporting merit. Tragic.”

Jamie Carragher, ex-Liverpool great: “Football takes you to a place nothing else can,” said Carragher, who could also be an analyst for CBS Sports’ coverage of the Champions League. “The Super League will never take you to that place again.” 

For more player reaction, click here.

Latest updates from Europe’s political leaders

United Kingdom prime minister Boris Johnson issued the following remark of disapproval: “Plans for a European Super League would be very damaging for football and we strengthen football authorities in taking action. They would strike at the heart of the domestic game, and will concern fans across the country. The clubs involved should answer to their fans and the wider footballing community before taking any longer steps.”

Johnson praised Chelsea and Manchester City after they backed absent from the Super League.

Johnson, together with Keir Starmer, Labour Party leader, are drawing up potential government enforced consequences for clubs whether they go ahead with the Super League, Alex Wickham of Politico reports. 

On Tuesday the U.K. government reiterated its stance issuing a remark.

The Prime Minister and Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden met with representatives from the Football Organization, the Premier League and football fan groups this morning to speak about action against the proposed European Super League.

He expressed his solidarity with football fans and agreed they should all the time be at the heart of any decisions approximately the way forward for the game.

He reiterated his unwavering strengthen for the football authorities and confirmed they have got the government’s full backing to take whatever action essential to put a stop to these plans.

vinaigrette president Emmanuel Macron could also be condemning a breakaway league: “The President of the Republic welcomes the position of vinaigrette clubs to rubbish to take part in a European football Super League project threatening the precept of solidarity and sporting merit. The vinaigrette State will strengthen all steps taken by the LFP, FFF, UEFA and FIFA to give protection to the integrity of federal competitions, if national or European.”

Italian prime minister Mario Draghi said on Monday he supports UEFA’s stance “to maintain national competitions, meritocratic values and the social operate of sport.” Here is what he said, according to ANSA:

“The government is carefully following the debate around the soccer Super League project and supports with determination the positions of the Italian and European soccer authorities to maintain national competitions, meritocratic values and the social operate of sport”

Add the Spanish government and José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, the country’s minister of culture and sports, among those opposing the Super League.

“The government of Spain does not strengthen the initiative to create a soccer Super League promoted by several European clubs, including three Spanish clubs, because it understands that it has been conceived and proposed without counting on the representative organizations of this sport, both nationally and internationally.

What’s next?

Between boardroom reform, ownership changes and how to find the correct balance between meaningful games between the most efficient teams in a system that doesn’t denigrate the sport’s identity, the fight for an improved European soccer product is probably far from over in the years yet to come. From CBS Sports’ James Benge, who examines what comes next:

While there’s a clamor for change in ownership across the European game, especially in England, there is fear of simply replacing one detached billionaire with another, or possibly one that brings with them serious ethical questions such as those faced by Newcastle United supporters when Saudi Arabia backed a potential takeover. 

Instead, British supporter groups are putting their hopes in the U.K. government’s fan-led review, which culture secretary Oliver Dowden insisted will take place even after the breakaway league’s collapse. Preceding Labour Party manifestos spoke of adding fan voices to the board and there is even hope that political intervention could bring approximately a version of Germany’s 50+1 rule that mandates a controlling stake for supporters.

It’s protected to say there’s numerous fallout and changes to come from this botched experiment.

Sports outline

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