Boris Johnson condemns plans for English clubs to join European Super League

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Boris Johnson today vowed to make sure the proposed European Super League ‘doesn’t go ahead’ as fans and football royalty turned on the ‘greedy’ mainly-foreign billionaire club owners trying to force through the £4.3billion plan bankrolled by a US investment bank.

The Prime Minister has said the clubs, which include Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs, ‘must answer to their fans’ before launching the ‘very damaging’ change that they hope will make them billions in new TV money and advertising.

Mr Johnson said the European Super League was not ‘good news’ for supporters and he would work with the football authorities ‘to make sure this doesn’t go ahead’ as the six rebel clubs were threatened with expulsion from the Premier League and European competitions with their stars also potentially banned from playing for their countries. 

Speaking in Gloucester today, the PM said football clubs were more than ‘great global brands’, they needed to have a link with their fans and communities, with supporters already threatening to tear up season tickets and protest outside stadiums in huge numbers if the ‘money-grabbing’ owners pursue it. 

There could also be attempts to sanction the owners. The US sports moguls behind Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal: Joel Glazer, John W Henry and Stan Kroenke respectively, are key players in the plans. They have been backed by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich at Chelsea, Abu Dhabi-backed Manchester City and Spurs, owned by British billionaire Joe Lewis, who lives in the Bahamas. 

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is the chairman of the new organisation, while Mr Glazer is a vice-chairman with Juventus’ Italian chairman Andrea Agnelli. 

The UK Government is said to be drawing up ‘very robust’ plans to fight back, including the Home Office withdrawing policing support from matches. They could also lead a legal charge to the High Court amid claims the move could be illegal under UK competition law, but legal experts have told MailOnline that the law is likely to be on the rebels’ side.  

Mr Johnson admitted that clubs involved could be compelled to pay back state-backed coronavirus loans and furlough money.

The most extreme change mooted is to transform the ownership rules for clubs to mirror the German model where investors can only own 49 per cent of a club and fans own the remaining 51 per cent. This ensures supporters always have the deciding vote at meetings. Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have not signed up to the Super League due to supporter power on their boards.  

The already super-rich club owners behind the proposed European Super League have today rushed to court to try to force through their plans financed by £4.3 billion ($6bn) in loans from US banking giant JP Morgan despite English fans and football legends crying ‘betrayal’ and declaring war ‘for the soul of football’. 

Under the plans the founder clubs will immediately share a £3.5billion pool of cash of up to £310million per club – and up to half of the payment can be ploughed into new players and salaries with the rest spent on the stadium and training facilities.

They would also make billions more by striking a fresh global TV deal with sources close to the founders telling the BBC that they will focus on ‘fans of the future’ abroad rather than ‘legacy fans’ in the UK. As well as the TV cash, the advertising money would be shared amongst the 20 clubs proposed to take part, rather than the 79 clubs who take part in the Champions League each year.      

Manchester United legend Gary Neville has laid into the foreign owners driving forward the plans. He said: ‘It’s pure greed, they’re impostors. The owners of Man United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City have nothing to do with football in this country.  The fans that come into this ground are the people who matter. Forget them [Glazers] they’re nothing to do with this club in terms of the actual history of the club and the long-term future. I would come down on them like a ton of bricks’. 

The row that threatens the most seismic change to English football in decades, came as:

• Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus said to be spearheading the Super League plan. Source tells BBC that clubs will focus on ‘fans of the future’ abroad rather than ‘legacy fans’ in the UK;
• Investment bank JP Morgan has confirmed it will be financing the new European Super League, set to feature 12 of the continent’s biggest football clubs, with £4.3billion in loans; 
• Champions League BT rules itself out of buying TV rights while pundits on Sky Sports, home of the Premier League, vocal in their criticism as Amazon, Netflix and Disney+-owned Star mooted as possible buyers;
• Government considers recalling Covid loans and furlough payments from English clubs involved as well as withholding policing for Super League matches and even reforming ownership rules for clubs to give fans majority votes; 
• Fifa, Uefa and the Premier League have already threatened the 12 clubs – including England’s ‘Big 6’ – with expulsion from all major competitions and even promised to ban their top players from playing for their countries;
• The Super League struck the first blow this morning, revealing they have sent a letter to football’s governing bodies and have ‘filed a motion before the relevant courts’ in England, Spain and Italy to ensure the competition can start in as early as August without the ‘punitive measures’ the dozen rebel clubs have been threatened with; 
• Tottenham Hotspur, one of the clubs involved, sack their manager Jose Mourinho after just 18 months in charge; 
• Porto president Pinto da Costa confirmed they rejected an invitation to join the European Super League while German giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund also not signed up;

The Premier League’s record goalscorer, Alan Shearer, said the league should retaliate.

Speaking via bookmaker Coral, he said: ‘These 12 clubs dropped a huge grenade on the sport with this announcement, and the Premier League should respond with a grenade of their own and say, OK, you’re going to be banned from the Premier League from next season, that’s how they should deal with this.

‘These clubs want to have their cake and eat it, they think they can play these Super League games in midweek and their domestic leagues at weekends, but I hope the leagues say no, that’s not happening.’

Boris Johnson today vowed to stop the league in its tracks.

Speaking to reporters during a campaign visit to Gloucestershire he said: ‘These clubs are not just great global brands – of course they’re great global brands – they’re also clubs that have originated historically from their towns, from their cities, from their local communities, they should have a link with those fans, and with the fan base in their community. So it is very, very important that that continues to be the case. I don’t like the look of these proposals, and we’ll be consulted about what we can do.’ 

Asked if teams such as Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs joining the breakaway European Super League could be compelled to pay back state-backed coronavirus loans and furlough money, Mr Johnson said: ‘We are going to look at everything that we can do with the football authorities to make sure that this doesn’t go ahead in the way that it’s currently being proposed. I don’t think that it’s good news for fans, I don’t think it’s good news for football in this country.’ 

Tory MP Damian Collins, former Chair of the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, said the announcement is a ‘ploy’ to get more cash when the new Champions League deal is agreed this year because the cash is set to be shared among more clubs. He said: ‘It looks completely cynical – a negotiating ploy to get more money. This is from American club owners who have brought ideas from the NFL’.

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, also a Sky Sports pundit with Mr Neville, said: ‘Manchester United’s shameless capitalism does not surprise me. United fans will agree that from day one, the Glazers have never hidden the fact they bought the club for the cash.  But John W Henry (Liverpool’s owner) is more cunning, courting fans’ groups in his early years and presenting himself as keen to engage, yet consistently failing to grasp the culture of the Kop’.

Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United’s most successful manager who is still on the club’s board said: ‘Talk of a Super League is a move away from 70 years of European club football. In my time at United, we played in four Champions League finals and they were always the most special of nights.’ 

Current Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl said: ‘This is a threat, this war by the big clubs against the rest. We have to fight against this and we have the fans on our side. Without them, this sport does not work. I always say, it’s nice to watch big game but it’s nice to watch small team beating big teams. This is what makes the Premier League great. We have to take this very, very seriously. UEFA have a tough job now’.

The League Managers’ Association will fully support any ‘appropriate measures’ taken against the breakaway clubs.

‘The LMA stands alongside the game’s other stakeholders in opposing the newly proposed European Super League,’ said a statement.

‘We believe that any such league would be catastrophically destabilising to the entire European football pyramid, with deep and far-reaching consequences.

‘Closing off the top of the pyramid of European club football would immediately extinguish many of the ambitions and dreams that drive managers, coaches, players and fans.

‘Club owners are custodians of the clubs they lead and they have a duty and responsibility to the integrity of the game that should always take precedence over self-interest and financial gain.

‘We will support the game’s stakeholders in taking any appropriate measures required and we urge those leading the clubs responsible for the European Super League proposals to fundamentally reconsider their position and act in the best interests of the whole game.’

Former Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera, now playing for Paris St Germain, said in a statement posted to Twitter: ‘I fell in love with popular football, with the football of the fans, with the dream of seeing the team of my heart compete against the greatest.

‘If this European super league advances, those dreams are over, the illusions of the fans of the teams that are not giants of being able to win on the field competing in the best competitions will end.

‘I love football and I cannot remain silent about this, I believe in an improved Champions League, but not in the rich stealing what the people created, which is nothing other than the most beautiful sport on the planet.’ 

The Premier League held an emergency board meeting after the plan emerged yesterday and has written to all its 20 clubs. The letter from chief executive Richard Masters demanded the rebels ‘walk away immediately before irreparable damage is done’. The Times says Masters told the six rebel clubs that continuing with this breakaway, would be a direct breach of Premier League rules. Sanctions could include expulsion or points deduction.   

In a letter to FIFA president Gianni Infantino and UEFA’s Aleksander Ceferin seen by the PA news agency, the European Super League Company calls for cooperation but also reveals it has already taken legal action to try to head off the threat of clubs and players being banned from other competitions.

The letter reads: ‘We are concerned that FIFA and UEFA may respond to this invitation letter by seeking to take punitive measures to exclude any participating club or player from their respective competitions.

‘We hope that is not your response to this letter and that, like us, your organisations will recognise the immediate benefits of the competition established by SLCo.

‘We also seek your cooperation and support on how the competition can be brought within the football ecosystem and work with us to achieve that objective.

‘Your formal statement does, however, compel us to take protective steps to secure ourselves against such an adverse reaction, which would not only jeopardise the funding commitment under the grant but, significantly, would be unlawful.

‘For this reason, SLCo has filed a motion before the relevant courts in order to ensure the seamless establishment and operation of the competition in accordance with applicable laws.’

Former Football Association and Manchester City chairman David Bernstein said he is ‘really ashamed’ of the six Premier League clubs who have agreed to join a European Super League.

It was announced on Sunday that Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham are among 12 clubs who have committed to the project.

Bernstein told Radio Four: ‘I’m ashamed. I’ve supported Manchester City all my life. It’s a club I love. But I’m really ashamed, as I know Gary Neville has said he is about his old club Manchester United, and I think Jamie Carragher and Liverpool.

‘I’m ashamed as clubs with that history should have great responsibility to the rest of the game.’

Bernstein believes there are two driving factors attracting clubs to the Super League, adding: ‘I think there are two things in play here: one is greed and the other is desperation.

‘And it’s because some of these clubs have incurred enormous debt. I believe certainly Barcelona and Real Madrid, and I think at least one of the English clubs, are approaching a billion pounds of debt.

‘I think they’re in a desperate situation. One of the things they haven’t done during the pandemic is to impose some sort of wages control. They’ve got themselves into a bit of a predicament.’

Bernstein cannot see the league being a success, saying: ‘It’s a lifeline that I think’s only going to end, if it happens at all, very badly.

‘Because a closed league, as they’re proposing, without promotion and relegation, without recognition of the rest of the game, is potentially a dead league.

‘It won’t have the life of football as we understand it. I think the arrogance of these half a dozen English clubs is something to behold.’

Aston Villa chief executive Christian Purslow branded the Super League a ‘grotesque concept’.

Speaking to BBC Radio Four, he said: ‘These proposals do away with sporting merit. It would enable a small number of clubs to be in this competition come what may and, for millions of people in football, that goes against everything the sport means and stands for.

‘The idea is that the uncertainty that comes with sport, that makes it so compelling, that we all love, is actually damaging to the business model of these huge clubs.

‘So the scheme is designed to take away that uncertainty, to give predictability to their businesses so that, if they’re badly managed or have a poor year, they’re still in the premier tournament. Does that sound like sport or football to you? To me it sounds a grotesque concept.’

The Labour Party’s Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, which is home to two of the Super League founder clubs in Manchester United and Manchester City, tweeted: ‘That phrase ‘the game’s gone’ always used to annoy me.

‘But with VAR and now this, nothing else better sums up where we are. It’s the phrase of the day. #TheGame’sGone’

Charlie Austin, who currently plays for QPR on loan from West Brom, has called for the Carabao Cup final on Sunday between Super League founding clubs Tottenham and Manchester City to be voided.

‘Football as we know it in this country is going to be smashed to pieces,’ he tweeted.

‘These 6 clubs are a shambles and just proves this game is all about money to them! Void the league cup final Sunday!! Dock them all points and relegate them! No longer the working man’s game!’

Sharing a hashtag encouraging a boycott of the Super League, former Chelsea and France forward Florent Malouda tweeted: ‘Can’t believe this is really happening, specially in those challenging times

‘I support and trust (UEFA) to take the right decisions to protect the game we love. £Boycottsuperleague £UEFA #UefaChampionsLeague’

In an apparent reference to the Super League, Yannick Bolasie, who is on loan at Middlesbrough from Premier League club Everton, tweeted: ‘Some real mercenaries…all values and history thrown out the window.’

In an announcement last night, the founding members of the European Super League will be  AC Milan, Arsenal, Atlético Madrid, Chelsea, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus, Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur. 

The group said in a joint statement: ‘Twelve of Europe’s leading football clubs have today come together to announce they have agreed to establish a new mid-week competition, the Super League, governed by its founding clubs. It is anticipated that a further three clubs will join ahead of the inaugural season, which is intended to commence as soon as practicable.’

The statement added: ‘Going forward, the founding clubs look forward to holding discussions with Uefa and Fifa to work together in partnership to deliver the best outcomes for the new League and for football as a whole. The formation of the Super League comes at a time when the global pandemic has accelerated the instability in the existing European football economic model. Further, for a number of years, the founding clubs have had the objective of improving the quality and intensity of existing European competitions throughout each season, and of creating a format for top clubs and players to compete on a regular basis.’ 

But the top clubs in Germany and France are yet to sign up. 

Borussia Dortmund chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke has said his club are focused on Champions League reform, not a Super League.

‘The members of the board of the European Club Association (ECA) got together for a virtual conference on Sunday evening and confirmed that the board decision of last Friday is still valid,’ said Watzke on his club’s website.

‘This decision means that the clubs want to implement the planned reform of the UEFA Champions League. It was the clear opinion of the members of the ECA board that the plans to found a Super League were rejected.’ 

Uefa, the football associations of England, Spain and Italy, plus the Premier League, LaLiga and Serie A have also spoken out against the move.

Piers Morgan wrote on Twitter: ‘Shocked & stunned by this new Super League of the ‘biggest & best’ teams in Europe. How the hell have Arsenal managed to blag our way in?’ 

He later continued: ‘If you proceed with this arrogant elitist shameful Super League nonsense – then you can stick my 4 season tickets up your Arsenal.’

Fans from all six Premier League clubs involved have criticised their clubs planned participation in the competition.  

Fans’ groups, including those linked to Liverpool, Spurs and Chelsea, have voiced their opposition to the clubs joining a super league.

Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust (THST) put out a statement calling for club owners Enic to ‘distance themselves from any rebel group’.

Labour leader and Arsenal fan Sir Keir Starmer said the clubs reportedly involved ‘should rethink immediately’ and added that a non-domestic league ‘ignores’ supporters.

‘This proposal risks shutting the door on fans for good, reducing them to mere spectators and consumers,’ he said on Twitter.

The Arsenal Supporters’ Trust have described the proposal as ‘the death of Arsenal of a sporting institution’.   

Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker, who played for Barcelona and Tottenham said he predicts the Super League will ‘die on its preposterous and avaricious a**e’. 

Shadow sports minister Alison McGovern – a Liverpool supporter – demanded the Government ‘deliver on what they have promised: a proper, fan-led review of football governance’.

Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: ‘This is greed personified, ripping the heart out of the English game, leaving clubs up and down the country to suffer after an awful year.

‘The consequences of these plans reach far and wide. The Government must step in to prevent a small number of greedy, rich owners destroying the game we all love.’    

Julian Knight, chairman of the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said a fan-led review with ‘real teeth’ should investigate the way football is run.

He said: ‘This is a dark day for football – a deal done behind closed doors apparently with no regard for supporters.

‘Though this idea was mooted several months ago, what’s shocking is the speed at which this breakaway league has been announced.

‘What’s needed is a fan-led review of football with real teeth and here we have more evidence to strengthen the case for it.

‘Football needs a reset, but this is not the way to do it. The interests of community clubs must be put at the heart of any future plans.

‘We, the committee, will be discussing this when we meet tomorrow in a private session.’

In a statement, LaLiga said it ‘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’.

The statement added that the plan ‘destroys the dream’ of any club, ‘no matter the size’, of succeeding.

LaLiga continued: ‘The newly proposed top European competition is nothing more than a selfish, egotistical proposal designed to further enrich the already super rich. It will undermine the appeal of the whole game and have a deeply damaging impact on the immediate and future of LaLiga, its member clubs, and all the entire footballing ecosystem.

‘In addition, the breakaway league threatens the rest of Spanish sports to which, in the current season, LaLiga will contribute more than 126 million euros as part of its agreement with the Spanish government and the Spanish FA.

‘This destruction of the European football ecosystem will also ultimately cause the failure of this new competition and its participating clubs, which have built their success based on the achievement of sports titles and triumphs, which will now be more limited.’ 

European football is at war after 12 clubs signed up to a breakaway Super League. So is it REALLY going to happen? How will it work? When will it start? Here’s EVERYTHING you need to know on a move that could change the game forever 

So, what exactly is the European Super League? 

Well, let’s start with the simple opening paragraph of the statement that confirmed the news on Sunday night and sent shockwaves through the sport and well beyond.

‘Twelve of Europe’s leading football clubs have today come together to announce they have agreed to establish a new mid-week competition, the Super League, governed by its Founding Clubs.’ 

Those ‘Founding Clubs’ are, as mentioned above, led by the biggest six clubs in English football: Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham.

Add to that arguably the two biggest clubs in the world, Real Madrid and Barcelona, and a third from Spain – Atletico Madrid. Then there’s Italy’s three giants: Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan.

But what about the rest of Europe’s big clubs?

Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain are understood to have rejected the idea, although the plan is to expand the league to 15 founding members, with a further five annual qualifiers – but no relegation for the big founding clubs, even if they finished bottom of the table. 

It is a rapidly changing situation, however, and nothing is certain yet. 

But if other giant Continental clubs want to be involved then they’d better sign up quick, because one thing’s for sure: if your name’s not down you’re not coming in. 

Sounds a bit like a snooty nightclub…

Yes, and the burly bouncer guarding the guest list is Real Madrid president Florentino Perez. The European Super League is his brainchild.

But the new league also represents an American takeover of elite European football, with Manchester United (the Glazer family), Liverpool (Fenway Sports Group, led by John W Henry) and Arsenal (Stan Kroenke) all controlled by US billionaires and venture capitalists.

One source described it as ‘a US-led operation’, adding: ‘This is down mostly to the Americans at Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal who have believed for a long time that they should be making a lot more money.

Then you have Tottenham, who have just built a big new stadium and who would no doubt benefit from infrastructure payments. Chelsea and Man City, who have been reluctant, do not really need the money but there is the obvious fear of missing out.’

What’s the reason for starting a new Super League when all these clubs already play in well-established competitions? 

Quite simply: greed. Or, as our Chief Sports Writer Martin Samuel puts it: ‘A sickening, self-serving attempted justification of what is at heart nothing but an attempted coup.’

Perez has long been jealous of the broadcasting revenue generated by the Premier League, the world’s most-watched competition, and he wants more money than the Spanish League – LaLiga – can offer. 

Major US bank JP Morgan, a former employer of Manchester United executive vice chairman Ed Woodward, are debt financing the new league which will see founding clubs receive £3.03billion, which is set against future broadcast revenue. 

But if the Premier League is so successful, why do the English clubs want in?

Quite simply: greed. Not content with the enormous revenue they already generate, these clubs want to have their cake and eat it: to rake it in from the Premier League while also milking even more money from a midweek European competition.

But there’s already a midweek European competition – the Champions League. What will happen to that?

Stripped of its biggest clubs, club football’s current elite competition would wither and die.  

UEFA, who were due to announce their own proposals for a revamped Champions League on Monday, reacted with fury to the news which had broken earlier on Sunday. 

A statement, issued jointly with the three governing bodies and leagues involved, said: ‘If this were to happen, we will remain united in our efforts to stop this cynical project, a project that is founded on the self-interest of a few clubs at a time when society needs solidarity more than ever. We will consider all measures available to us, at all levels, both judicial and sporting in order to prevent this happening.

‘FIFA and the six Federations announced that 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 opportunity to represent their national teams.’

Does that mean that these clubs could be banned from playing in the Premier League if this goes ahead? 

Yes. The Premier League – along with all the other big domestic leagues in Europe, plus the game’s governing bodies, FIFA and UEFA – will fight tooth and nail to stop their biggest clubs so shamelessly deserting the rest. 

And there was a warning in UEFA’s statement to players of these clubs too: if you play in the European Super League then you will not be allowed to play in the World Cup or European Championship.

What have the Premier League said?

A letter sent by Premier League chief executive Richard Masters to all 20 member clubs, was also strong and laced with warning to the Big Six. 

‘We do not and cannot support such a concept,’ he wrote. ‘Premier League Rules contain a commitment amongst clubs to remain within the football pyramid and forbid any clubs from entering competitions beyond those listed in Rule L9, without Premier League Board permission. I cannot envisage any scenario where such permission would be granted.’

Do these clubs need permission from the Premier League to play in the European Super League?

Yes. The Premier League was founded in 1992 on the basis that all clubs have an equal vote on the governance of the league, and a right to equal share of the basic broadcasting revenues. The Big Six do not, to say the least, like this one bit. They feel that they are responsible for generating the vast proportion of global interest – and revenues – in the Premier League so deserve a way to generate even more cash. 

Sounds like these big clubs can forget joining a European Super League then? 

They will be lobbying hard to get their way, have no doubt about that. Somehow they are brazenly trying to convince the rest of the Premier League and English football that the European Super League would benefit everyone.

In a rare public comment, United co-chairman Joel Glazer claimed that the closed shop would provide ‘increased financial support for the wider football pyramid’. 

Just like with Project Big Picture – their failed attempt at bribing the Football League with cash to bail them out during the crippling coronavirus pandemic to let the big Six take almost complete control of English football, this new competition is motivated solely by selfishness and greed.

Is that what the experts think too? 

Just listen to Gary Neville, a Manchester United club legend and lifelong fan of the club.

‘It’s been damned, and rightly so,’ said Neville on Sky Sports. ‘I’m a Manchester United fan and I have been for 40 years of my life but I’m absolutely disgusted. I’m disgusted with Manchester United and Liverpool most.

‘Deduct them all points tomorrow, put them at the bottom of the league and take the money off them. Seriously, you have got to stamp on this. It’s criminal. It’s a criminal act against the football fans in this country, make no mistake.

‘There isn’t a football fan in this country that won’t be and shouldn’t be seething listening to this conversation and these announcements.’

Wow, that’s strong stuff. But is Neville alone?

Not at all. Sir Alex Ferguson, the greatest manager in Manchester United and English football history – and still an executive at United – said that a European Super League would be a move away from 70 years of football history and insisted that the Champion League should stay as it is.

‘Talk of a Super League is a move away from 70 years of European club football,’ he told Reuters.

‘Everton are spending £500million to build a new stadium with the ambition to play in Champions League. Fans all over love the competition as it is.

‘In my time at United, we played in four Champions League finals and they were always the most special of nights.’

Pointedly, he added: ‘I am not part of the decision making process.’

Who else has spoken out?

Prime Minister Boris Johnson last night condemned the six English clubs. 

‘Plans for a European Super League would be very damaging for football and we support football authorities in taking action,’ said Mr Johnson on Twitter.

‘They would strike at the heart of the domestic game, and will concern fans across the country.

‘The clubs involved must answer to their fans and the wider footballing community before taking any further steps.’ 

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said any major decisions about a European league ‘should have the fans’ backing’.

‘With many fans, we are concerned that this plan could create a closed shop at the very top of our national game,’ he said.

‘Sustainability, integrity and fair competition are absolutely paramount and anything that undermines this is deeply troubling and damaging for football.’

And what are the fans saying?

Piers Morgan wrote on Twitter: ‘Shocked & stunned by this new Super League of the ‘biggest & best’ teams in Europe. How the hell have Arsenal managed to blag our way in?’

He later continued: ‘If you proceed with this arrogant elitist shameful Super League nonsense – then you can stick my 4 season tickets up your Arsenal.’ 

Labour leader and Arsenal fan Sir Keir Starmer said the clubs reportedly involved ‘should rethink immediately’ and added that a non-domestic league ‘ignores’ supporters.

‘This proposal risks shutting the door on fans for good, reducing them to mere spectators and consumers,’ he said on Twitter.

Fans’ groups, including those linked to Liverpool, Spurs and Chelsea, have voiced their opposition to the clubs joining a super league.

Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust (THST) put out a statement calling for club owners Enic to ‘distance themselves from any rebel group’.

What has been the reaction on social media?

The condemnation has been visceral and near universal – no mean feat on platforms that manage to divide society on nearly every issue.

‘Football supporters don’t agree on everything, but I think we can all agree that this idea of a European Super League can absolutely f**k off,’ @AnfieldRd96 wrote on Twitter.

@txmejackala added: ‘The European Super League literally epitomises what is wrong with this sport. We are seeing a vast amount of billionaires come into the sport and they want nothing, but power and control.

‘They do not care about the fans, they see them as customers and they take them for mugs.’

The readers’ comments on Sportsmail’s story revealing the plans for the European Super League were also full of anger

‘As a season ticket holder for 40 years at Man city, if they join the misnamed ‘super’ league, I will consider my days of paying to attend days as done,’ one reader said.

Another wrote: ‘I am a Liverpool season ticket holder. I cannot speak for anyone else but his is NOT what I want. I do NOT want to watch the same teams every week. We will be barred form European competition. We will be barred from the FA and League Cup. If this goes wrong we will NOT be welcomed back. We will be a football club without a league to play in. NO! NO! NO!’

Many, however, simply scoffed at the suggestion that Tottenham were one of the biggest 12 clubs in Europe. Football fans, eh?

The world seems united in opposition to the European Super League… so is there any way the Big Six could get their way? 

The nuclear option at their disposal would be to quit the Premier League entirely. But given the billions that the league generates, that would make no sense to club owners only interested in money.

If they somehow pulled it off, when would it all start?

The ‘Founder members’ announced on Sunday night their intention to start ‘as soon as practicable’. They are targeting s start as early as the 2022/23 season.

But given the inevitable multiple legal challenges that the proposed league would face – from UEFA, the Premier League, TV broadcasters who have shelled out billions to show existing competitions – this seems the stuff of pure fantasy. 

 

New European Super League plans are CONFIRMED with Big Six all involved… but UEFA, the Premier League and others join forces to hit back at the ‘cynical project’ and vow to STOP it happening

BY MARTIN SAMUEL – CHIEF SPORTS WRITER 

The big six of English football have joined a new European Super League – scheduled to start ‘as soon as practicable’ – in a seismic move that has triggered instant war across the sport.

The decision threatens to split England football with the Premier League indicating in a letter to clubs that it would not sanction any such competition – leaving Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham no choice but to back down or break away.

The group have all agreed to be part of a predominantly closed shop league also featuring Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan. 

Bayern Munich and Paris St Germain are understood to have rejected the idea, although the plan is to expand the league to 15 founding members, with a further five annual qualifiers in what is a rapidly-changing situation.

Fans, politicians, governing bodies and some of football’s most famous names joined in condemning the staggering development, which was the brainchild of Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and which was officially announced in a statement late on Sunday night.

A simple opening paragraph which shook the world of football declared: ‘Twelve of Europe’s leading football clubs have today come together to announce they have agreed to establish a new mid-week competition, the Super League, governed by its Founding Clubs.’ The bombshell press release added that the founding clubs ‘look forward’ to holding discussions with UEFA and FIFA.

Major US bank JP Morgan, former employer of Manchester United executive vice chairman Ed Woodward, are debt financing the new league which will see founding clubs receive £3.03 billion, which is set against future broadcast revenue. 

 

The statement added that the move would ‘improve the quality and intensity of existing European competitions’. In a rare public comment, United co-chairman Joel Glazer brazenly claimed that the closed shop would provide ‘increased financial support for the wider football pyramid’. 

A format was also released which said matches would take place in midweek and would not affect domestic calendars, with an August start. It was also announced that The Super League would feature two groups of 10, playing home and away fixtures, with the top three in each group qualifying for quarter-finals. Those in fourth and fifth would play-off for the remaining positions. The knockout format would be two-legged with a final at the end of May at a neutral venue.

UEFA, who were due to announce their own proposals for a revamped Champions League on Monday, earlier reacted with fury to the news which had broken earlier on Sunday. A statement issued jointly with the three governing bodies and leagues involved, referred to a ‘closed, so-called Super League’.

It continued: ‘If this were to happen, we will remain united in our efforts to stop this cynical project, a project that is founded on the self-interest of a few clubs at a time when society needs solidarity more than ever. 

We will consider all measures available to us, at all levels, both judicial and sporting in order to prevent this happening. As previously 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 opportunity to represent their national teams.

We call on all lovers of football, supporters and politicians, to join us in fighting against such a project. This persistent self-interest of a few has been going on for too long. Enough is enough.’

Meanwhile, a letter sent by Premier League chief executive Richard Masters to all 20 member clubs, took a similarly strong stance. ‘We do not and cannot support such a concept,’ he wrote. ‘Premier League Rules contain a commitment amongst Clubs to remain within the football pyramid and forbid any Clubs from entering competitions beyond those listed in Rule L9, without Premier League Board permission. 

I cannot envisage any scenario where such permission would be granted.’ The Premier League board is independent of the clubs and would not need a wider vote to reject permission to join a European Super League.

The board consists of Masters, chairman Gary Hoffman and Kevin Beeston, a non-executive director. Hoffman was complaining on Sunday that representatives of the Big Six were not returning his calls. He does not regard this latest development as more brinkmanship around football’s ongoing power struggles.

Equally furious, was UEFA president Aleksandser Ceferin who was understood to be expecting to publish a joint statement with Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli at the weekend condemning plans for the Super League.

Alarm bells started ringing on Saturday when Ceferin, who is godfather to Agnelli’s daughter, could not contact his old friend to finalise the wording. 

The new league represents an American takeover of elite European football, which will become a closed shop run by its founder members. One source described it as ‘a US-led operation’, adding: ‘This is down mostly to the Americans at Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal who have believed for a long time that they should be making a lot more money.

Then you have Tottenham, who have just built a big new stadium and who would no doubt benefit from infrastructure payments. Chelsea and Man City, who have been reluctant, do not really need the money but there is the obvious fear of missing out.’ 

The Super League statement added: ‘The new annual tournament will provide significantly greater economic growth and support for European football via a long-term commitment to uncapped solidarity payments which will grow in line with league revenues. These solidarity payments will be substantially higher than those generated by the current European competition and are expected to be in excess of €10 billion during the course of the initial commitment period of the Clubs.

‘In addition, the competition will be built on a sustainable financial foundation with all Founding Clubs signing up to a spending framework. In exchange for their commitment, Founding Clubs will receive an amount of €3.5 billion solely to support their infrastructure investment plans and to offset the impact of the COVID pandemic.’ 

Perez is the first of the new league. with the likes of Glazer and Agnelli in vice-chairman’s roles.

Chelsea and Manchester City are thought to have been presented with the proposals as late as Friday, with Manchester City the last to sign, on Saturday.

England’s six clubs are not intending to resign from domestic football, but would need Premier League permission to join any new competitions, and the issue could be forced. There is a lot of anger among the other 14 Premier League clubs, with some even advocating excluding the breakaway clubs.

Perez said: ‘We will help football at every level and take it to its rightful place in the world. Football is the only global sport in the world with more than four billion fans and our responsibility as big clubs is to respond to their desires.’

Agnelli added: ‘Our 12 Founder clubs represent billions of fans across the globe and 99 European trophies.

‘We have come together at this critical moment, enabling European competition to be transformed, putting the game we love on a sustainable footing for the long-term future, substantially increasing solidarity, and giving fans and amateur players a regular flow of headline fixtures that will feed their passion for the game while providing them with engaging role models.’ 

 

Condemnations from many sources was swift and strong. ‘It’s been damned, and rightly so,’ said Gary Neville on Sky Sports.

‘I’m a Manchester United fan and I have been for 40 years of my life but I’m absolutely disgusted. I’m disgusted with Manchester United and Liverpool most.

‘Deduct them all points tomorrow, put them at the bottom of the league and take the money off them. Seriously, you have got to stamp on this. It’s criminal. It’s a criminal act against the football fans in this country, make no mistake.

‘There isn’t a football fan in this country that won’t be and shouldn’t be seething listening to this conversation and these announcements.’

Daily Mail columnist Micah Richards added: ‘What happens to the memories the fans have had over the years? Are they just forgotten about for the sake of money? That’s the way football has become now and it’s an absolute disgrace.’