Participation of 12 Major Clubs Including FC Barcelona and Manchester United
"Insulting," "Greed Itself"... Fierce Criticism in Football World Continues
UEFA "Will Take All Possible Measures to Prevent This Situation"
Political Sphere Joins Criticism... UK Prime Minister "Will Deal a Major Blow to Football"
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] The European Super League (ESL), unofficially promoted by some major European clubs, has declared its launch, sparking backlash from the football community including FIFA and causing a major controversy.
According to major foreign media on the 18th (local time), 12 clubs have agreed to establish the ESL: AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus (all from Italy), Atl?tico Madrid, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid (all from Spain), and the 'Big 6' of the English Premier League (EPL) ? Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur.
ESL Participating Clubs "Will Protect the Interests of European Football"... Prize Money Expected to Surpass the Champions League
The 12 clubs issued a joint statement saying, "We have agreed to establish a new midweek competition called the Super League," and "We intend to continue discussions with UEFA and FIFA to bring the best outcomes for the new league and football as a whole."
As the background for founding the ESL, the 12 clubs explained, "The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the instability of the European football economy," and "The pandemic has shown the need for a strategic vision and sustainable commercial approach to protect the interests and enhance the value of European football." In other words, these major clubs are pushing for the ESL as a new way to consistently generate economic benefits.
They also stated, "Founding clubs will receive 3.5 billion euros (approximately 4.6782 trillion KRW) for infrastructure investment and to overcome COVID-19 damages."
According to the ESL, the league will be governed by the founding members, and in addition to the current 12 clubs, three more clubs will join later, making a total of 15 clubs for the official launch. The inaugural chairman will be Florentino P?rez, president of Real Madrid.
Florentino Perez, President of Real Madrid and inaugural chairman of the European Super League (ESL)
The league will feature 20 clubs in total: 15 founding clubs plus 5 clubs that qualify based on the previous season's performance. Matches will be held midweek, separate from each country's regular league, starting in August. The 20 clubs will be divided into two groups of 10 teams each, playing home and away matches. The top three teams from each group will automatically advance to the quarterfinals, while the 4th and 5th place teams will compete in playoffs to determine the remaining quarterfinalists. The final will be a single match held at a neutral venue in May.
Local media report that the league aims to launch in the 2022-2023 season.
In terms of prize money, the ESL is expected to surpass the UEFA Champions League. According to the British media outlet The Sun, the major American financial firm JP Morgan will invest 4.6 billion pounds (approximately 7.1185 trillion KRW) in the ESL. Founding members will receive 130 million pounds (approximately 201.1 billion KRW) annually regardless of match outcomes. Winners will receive an additional 212 million pounds (approximately 328.2 billion KRW).
In contrast, the 2019-2020 UEFA Champions League winner's prize money was 19 million euros (approximately 25.4 billion KRW). Including various match bonuses, clubs could earn over 82 million euros (approximately 109.6 billion KRW), but this still falls short of the ESL's expected prize money (approximately 528 billion KRW). From the clubs' perspective, participating in the ESL is economically much more advantageous.
UEFA "Will Take All Measures to Prevent the Situation"... Former Man United Player Calls ESL Founding "Disgusting"
In response, FIFA, UEFA, national football associations, and league offices have strongly opposed the move. UEFA currently organizes the Champions League and Europa League, and there are concerns that a separate European league unrelated to these competitions would naturally reduce interest and revenue for the Champions League.
UEFA, along with the football associations of England, Spain, and Italy, and the offices of the EPL, Spanish La Liga, and Italian Serie A, issued a statement saying, "(The Super League) is a project pursued by some clubs for their own interests," and "If the competition is established, we will unite to stop it."
UEFA and others added, "We will consider all possible measures to prevent this situation," emphasizing, "Football is based on open competition. There can be no other way." They warned, "As announced by FIFA and the six continental confederations, clubs participating in the Super League may be banned from domestic and international leagues and competitions," and "Players belonging to those clubs may also be prohibited from playing for their national teams."
A tweet posted by Gary Neville, a former Manchester United player and currently a Sky Sports commentator. The tweet includes a quote from former Liverpool FC manager Bill Shankly: "Football embodies the way we live our lives. Cooperation is exactly that." [Image source=Gary Neville Twitter]
Criticism from football fans and former players continues. The official social media account of Chelsea FC's fan organization, Chelsea Supporters' Trust, tweeted, "The founding of the ESL is sacrificing the spirit of sport solely to make money," calling it "pure greed" and stating, "We will no longer tolerate the desecration of sport."
Gary Neville, a former Manchester United player and current commentator for the British sports channel Sky Sports, criticized, "(The clubs' founding of the ESL) is a very disgusting act," and said, "Creating a playground only for top clubs is an insult to the football world."
Concerns have also been raised in the political arena. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson criticized via Twitter, "The ESL will deal a huge blow to football." French President Emmanuel Macron also said about the Super League, "It threatens solidarity and the values of sport," and "I welcome that French clubs have not joined."
Former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta tweeted on the same day, "Creating a separate Super League is nonsense," and pointed out, "The spirit of sport is about giving all clubs a chance."
A tweet criticizing the establishment of the European Super League posted by former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta [Image source=Enrico Letta Twitter]
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