European Super League Talk/Gossip/Rumours Season: TBC

Richard Hillman

Time-Line:

2009 - July: Florentino Perez: "we have to agree a new European Super League which guarantees that the best always play the best - something that does not happen in the Champions League"

2009 August: Wenger Predicts European Super League to be a reality within 10 years

2012 February: Clarence Seedorf Endorses the League. Calls it the NBA of Football

2013 October: Unal Aysal (Galatasaray President) and Andrea Agnelli (Juve), praise the idea. Aysal says "The first 15-20 big clubs of Europe all agree with this – nobody will say no." Aysal predicts the league to happen in 5 years time.

2016 January: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: "You can't rule out that, in the future, we could create a European league with the major clubs from Italy, Germany, England, Spain and France, under the umbrella of UEFA or a private organisation,

2016 February: Representitives of Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool meet Charlie Stillitano in London to discuss the league.

2016 March: Charlie Stillitano "Let’s call it the money pot created by soccer and the fandom around the world. Who has had more of an integral role, Manchester United or Leicester? It’s a wonderful, wonderful story – but you could see it from Manchester United’s point of view, too.”

It is looking like this is inevitable. FIFA/UEFA are looking like they are on the verge of falling apart and this is the opportunity for the big clubs to go.

Madrid, Barca, Bayern and PSG have completely outgrown their leagues. Barca may need this to save face should Catalonia gain independence and are given an in or out mandate from La Liga. FFP is a complete irritant to Chelsea & Man City and Arsenal will go anywhere the money is.

Then you have the smaller leagues with a monopoly/Duopoly clubs and nowhere to go to progress. Formerly Big-Clubs like Benfica, Ajax, Celtic that used to have presitge but are now whipping boys.


The Russians cannot be forgotten either. There is plenty of money there but struggle to attract players to play against Krasnodar or Tarek Grozny.

It makes sense to go for it. Traditional fans will cry about it but will still follow their teams.

Dirty Dingus McGee

Not a good idea for the game as a whole, if it's a competely seperate competition where the top clubs don't compete domestically anymore.

The great thing about soccer is that it has numerous top level competitions instead of just 1 like most other major professional sports.


A better idea would be to introuduce salary caps and profit sharing amongst clubs and therefore all the major leagues in Europe would be more competitive of course that would involve looking at something other than self interest which the top clubs in soccer seem incapable of.

Rivalries amogst clubs within countries keep leagues going.Nobody would give a toss about Napoli v Lyon in a midtable European Super League match.

If things are left to their natural conclusion there would just be another elite group of clubs within the newly created super League anyway just as has happened in the Champions League.They'd probably introduce a no relegation clause for certain clubs within a super league so that they could line their own pockets.

Euopean Football is exciting because these teams don't play each other every week constant matches between these team would get boring as without natural rivalries that exist in domestic leagues you don't have anywhere near as much interest in the games.

It would take away the oppurtunity for smaller clubs to work towards getting promoted to the top level in their country and competing against the big teams.

grumpymunster

Thing is tradition means little in football, if there is significant money to be made for the biggest clubs in Europe in a European League then that is what will happen. FFP has already made that small clubs cannot become big clubs as such and really this would be the next logical (from the largest clubs point of view) step.

Leicester are having a super season and fair play to them but that is the exception rather than the rule.

cj maxx

Richard Hillman wrote: »

It is looking like this is inevitable. FIFA/UEFA are looking like they are on the verge of falling apart and this is the opportunity for the big clubs to go.

Madrid, Barca, Bayern and PSG have completely outgrown their leagues. Barca may need this to save face should Catalonia gain independence and are given an in or out mandate from La Liga. FFP is a complete irritant to Chelsea & Man City and Arsenal will go anywhere the money is.

Then you have the smaller leagues with a monopoly/Duopoly clubs and nowhere to go to progress. Formerly Big-Clubs like Benfica, Ajax, Celtic that used to have presitge but are now whipping boys.


The Russians cannot be forgotten either. There is plenty of money there but struggle to attract players to play against Krasnodar or Tarek Grozny.

It makes sense to go for it. Traditional fans will cry about it but will still follow their teams.

It does seem inevitable at some stage in the next 10 yrs imo.
Whether its 2 or more pan- europe leagues with promotion / Relagation or an US style league remains to be seen but the power lies with the european super ( rich) clubs and not uefa / fifa anymore

It's always just out of reach somehow.

The CL are in a new commercial period so it's not gonna fall apart yet. Also why would the English teams get involved if it would affect the mental PL money they receive?

GavRedKing

Apparently the English clubs meeting was all about pre season tours.

MD1990

Strange to say it is looking inevitable since it was mentioned 7 years ago & its no closer.
Its like people saying years the ago the bubble will burst in regards to the money in football while its just get way bigger.
Madrid have outgrown their league lol. They have won one league title in the last 8 years.

Skylinehead

Richard Hillman wrote: »

Madrid, Barca, Bayern and PSG have completely outgrown their leagues

Might want to tell Diego Simeone that, he didn't get the memo.

Harry Palmr

With so many Americans having whole or part ownership of big clubs in the Prem you could see a push towards a closed shop league that guarantees a big pay day regardless of form. It appeals to them as its what they know from the Baseball and "Football" world over there

Magico Gonzalez

Hugely unfair on the likes of Spurs and Atletico Madrid who are outperforming their "bigger" league opponents being touted for this league.

Are the likes of the Portuguese clubs being frozen out, Lisbon and Porto have some great sides over the years. Nothing for the greeks and the nordics? Complete disgrace.

This would be the death of my interest in top flight football tbh, greed would have finally overtaken fair competition. I'll be disgusted if Liverpool, as a fan of that club, agree to this.

grumpymunster

Unfair yes indeed but since when did UEFA, FIFA, FA or any other football body actually worry about such a Corinthian ideal? Things change and not always for the better. It is possibly worth noting that according to Forbes 7 of the top 10 most valuable sports clubs in the world are in the US and play in leagues where there is no promotion or relegation so a closed European League is not outside the bounds of possibility.

I like it the way it is it is always good to see the likes of Leicester pushing on at the top of the league and if you are good enough you compete in the big tournaments, if you are not you don't. But at the end of the day TV will dictate.

ArmaniJeanss

Very bizarre OP with the timeline starting in 2009 as if this is when the idea was first mooted.
Whereas it's actually been on the go as a concept in one form or other since the 1980s (and quite possibly earlier) and was one of the key reasons that the Champions League was started in the early 90s.

So those opposed to the ESL idea may be consoled by the fact that its been 'inevitable in the next 5/10 years' for close on 40 years now.

Fr Tod Umptious

Great thread OP.

Like others I remembered it being talked about since the 80s.

But I think its getting closer than ever.

I also think its the only thing that will save the likes of Celtic.

Have them playing in a 2nd teir pan European competition week in week out rather than in the poor quality Scottish league.