European Super League

Do you want the ESL to happen?


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For anyone wondering what the fuss is all about. THIS. IS. IT.

This Super Plastic League is going to absolutely wipe off football's history.



It's been confimed that any participating club will be sent to the lowest division. So maybe you're being a bit ridiculous.

:rolleyes:

Yeah sure mate, that'll teach them when everyones revenue drops.
 
Football lost its soul a long time ago. The big clubs are run and owned by filthy rich foreign investors, only looking to line their pockets. Players are only as loyal as their next paycheck. FIFA is one of the most corrupt major organizations on earth. Skysports and other TV station are making out like bandits with over priced subscription fees, etc...I don't like the idea of the European Super League one bit. But to see the former players, pundits, and journos ranting and raving about preserving the "purity of the game", and "looking out for the little guy during the pandemic," when they themselves are sitting millions of pounds, earned by participation in a greedy and corrupt game, just reeks of hypocrisy. The super league would just the logical next step for a system which is deeply flawed morally and already beyond repair. Maybe this will all serve to trigger deeper thinking at the governmental level about how to truly protect and preserve the game.
 
Why even have team names at all? Why even have teams base themselves in countries and cities?

Each team can just be assigned a random collection of numbers and letters, and to save on all that pesky air travel, they'll all be based on an island, let's call it Football Island, and players are cloned and fed on the embryos of failed clones until the reach maturity and can kick a ball about for all our pleasure.

Don’t worry they’ll be franchising and moving around when some rich dickheads wants to have them play in the arse end of China no doubt.
 
Club statement

"Twelve of Europe’s leading football clubs have today come together to announce they have agreed to establish a new midweek competition, the Super League, governed by its Founding Clubs.
AC Milan, Arsenal FC, Atlético de Madrid, Chelsea FC, FC Barcelona, FC Internazionale Milano, Juventus FC, Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid CF and Tottenham Hotspur have all joined as 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.

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.

The pandemic has shown that a strategic vision and a sustainable commercial approach are required to enhance value and support for the benefit of the entire European football pyramid. In recent months extensive dialogue has taken place with football stakeholders regarding the future format of European competitions. The Founding Clubs believe the solutions proposed following these talks do not solve fundamental issues, including the need to provide higher-quality matches and additional financial resources for the overall football pyramid.

COMPETITION FORMAT

• 20 participating clubs with 15 Founding Clubs and a qualifying mechanism for a further five teams to qualify annually 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 ten, playing home and away fixtures, with the top three in each group automatically qualifying for the quarter finals. Teams finishing fourth and fifth will then compete in a two-legged play-off for the remaining quarter-final positions. A two-leg knockout format will be used to reach the final at the end of May, which will be staged as a single fixture at a neutral venue.

As soon as practicable after the start of the men’s competition, a corresponding women’s league will also be launched, helping to advance and develop the women’s game.

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.

Florentino Pérez, President Real Madrid CF and the first Chairman of the Super League 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.”

Backing the new European league, Andrea Agnelli, Chairman of Juventus and Vice-Chairman of the Super League said:

“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.”

Joel Glazer, Co-Chairman of Manchester United and Vice-Chairman of the Super League said:

“By bringing together the world’s greatest clubs and players to play each other throughout the season, the Super League will open a new chapter for European football, ensuring world-class competition and facilities, and increased financial support for the wider football pyramid.”
 
How does the UCL being bloated kill European competition ffs? What a load of nonsense

It killed the UEFA Cup and turned it into a chore. They then decided to have a Europa Conference league (worst name ever) even though, no one gives a feck about the Europa League. There's 3 European competitions but only 1 is worthwhile and that 1 is won by the same 4-5 teams.
 
I think the whole reason for this is to stop Mancity and PSG from happening again. FA and UEFA can cry foul but they let State own football clubs and asked other teams to compete with them. This was bound to happen.

I assume a second tier competition will arrive in due course. With the amount of money involved, it will be ratified after some hue and cry from both FA and UEFA
Yeah I imagine the Champs League will continue as the secondary tournament and the Europa will become that European conference nonsense thats about to be introduced
 
Isn't that how it should be for the big teams anyway? What the hell is finishing 4th about.

To each his own I guess. Chasing top 4 gave me a reason and made it fun to watch us play every weekend the last 7 years when we had little chance to win it. If the PL becomes like a friendly tournament I'll have no reason to watch and I know many others will feel the same.
 
In work at 6 tomorrow but this news is keeping me up. Biggest change in football possibly ever? Monumental night for football this.
 
What about the Hungarian Clubs that basically bought their way to CL using funds handed down by the government? Are they much better?

This whole holier than thou stance is frankly ridiculous. There are so many crooks in football these days. Just look at teams like Istanbul Basaksehir etc.

Never followed Hungarian football and by the time I was born (1999) it was already way past its prime. If you take a look at the political situation in my country right now you won't be surprised about those things you mentioned. I don't give a feck about Erdogan's team either, nor the other 11 teams involved in this bullshit. I just thought United were always different. Our history, Munich, Class of 92, SAF, knocking Pool off their perch, our traditions, etc. I could go on. I even thought the Glazers and Woodward weren't as bad as they were made out to be because we were spendings shitloads of money post-SAF. But everything Man. United supposedly is all about is just gonna fade into irrelevance now because we're just gonna be a brand, and not a football club. We're potentially one of the biggest accomplices to the downfall of football.
 
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Don’t worry they’ll be franchising and moving around when some rich dickheads wants to have them play in the arse end of China no doubt.

Time for some American names ! The state + some nickname, like Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, the English clubs will be named Manchester Devils and London lions or whatever !!
 
Wonder how much of the 3.5 Billion Euro will go into the club and how much will go to the Glazers. What a great time to support this club feckin hell
 
I think the next 3 clubs will end up being PSG, Napoli and Sevilla. Outside shot it'll be Porto.

Obviously the SL would want PSG, Bayern and Dortmund to round out the 15.

Ajax and Bayern out seems so wrong to me.
 
I have no idea when you've had a little rant about what I might think, just having a discussion here and I've said nothing about what I think.

I've tried to think about this from both perspectives and form as rational an opinion as I can. I've considered my own reasons for this not being a good thing and they don't include a complete lack of investment. I expect we would be able to invest more than we end up doing, but going far and competing in this competition, as well as the continued domestic competition (bans etc would change the dynamic of this completely though) will still be a thing. We have spent money and a good amount at that, even if it isn't as much as it could have been and even if it has been spent poorly.

Please leave the straw mans and assumptions though, there is no reason we can't play devil's advocate, discuss, debate without being dramatic and bringing up digs about our principles for watching the sport. So dramatic.

Eh?!?! The only positive for us as a club from your post was that we'll invest more. I basically explained why I thought that was a moot point.

Playing devil's advocate requires some actual realistic arguments. You saying we'll invest more when this club has been going down the proverbial capitalism drain for 15 years under these leeches makes me question whether you are just saying things to look unbiased.
 
Wonder how much of the 3.5 Billion Euro will go into the club and how much will go to the Glazers. What a great time to support this club feckin hell
Isnt the money ear marked for things like Stadiums and training facilities etc?
 
The legal ramifications of this will be too great to fathom. Sponsorship deals will be fine combed from every single angle. I wouldn't be surprised to see a complete hiatus of European football for a few months.

It would be a real shame to never hear that champions league anthem again and see those iconic starred balls.

I started off this afternoon not opposing this super league but as more details emerge and the more it's sinking in, I am changing my views.
 
Says who? Why can't the format change in a season or so once it's established? We should just worry about winning it instead of worrying about being bored of playing world class teams to be honest, strange and silly argument.

What don’t you get about this?

It’s protectionism of the biggest clubs so that they’re guaranteed revenue every year. No surprise AC Milan are there for instance having been fecking awful on merit for a decade, their owners can capitalise on their past to make a quick buck. It’s no longer about football, just money.

We’re guaranteed to stay in as a founding member, at least until the snakes show their colours and boot us out if we’re not valuable to their little money making operation any longer.

We don’t get relegated so we play them every season until nobody can be arsed anymore.

It’s the elites saying we want it all and leaving nothing for anyone else.
 
One of worse thing about this is that apart from 1st position, no other position will mean anything for the domestic league. That will make 38 games league a monotonous affair for almost all the teams.
 
I haven't had chance! I'm getting about 15 replies a second at the moment. I'll read up on everything tomorrow when the dust settled. Don't really care right now as the sentiment around it is 95% negative so there's a total imbalance of rational thinking
Or you know, the 95% have a point and you're talking utter bollocks.
 
Glazers invest most when we miss out on the CL, without that issue, why do some think they'll be investing into the team more now? It goes against the pattern of behaviour they've shown in recent times.
 
One of worst thing about this is that apart from 1st position, no other position will mean anything for the domestic league. That will make 38 games league a monotonous affair for almost all the teams.
Its not a league like that. Read the competition layout
 
As opposed to the Champions League? I don’t understand how we have reached a point where people cannot conceive of anything but a UEFA-led Champions League. Football existed before and will exist after.

Domestically, people seem to be lamenting the death of the top 4 race, which is a case of Stockholm Syndrome if I ever saw it.

Look into the details of the comp and think through the impact this will have on all other competitions as we know them.

Whats the difference between finishing 2nd and 17th from now on in the PL? Assuming we're not thrown out, we've nothing to gain from continuing to genuinely compete once out of the title race. Cue league Cup quality teams for the Manchester Derby - wouldn't want to tire the boys out ahead of the fourth fecking game against Madrid this Wednesday.

FA/League cups? Forget about it. 60+ games across two competitions i imagine leaves us either dropping those or fielding the kids. A sorry way to treat a trophy as precious as the FA Cup.

Skip ahead to travelling tours of the ESL. Less and less home games, with the nightmare scenario being a complete swing towards a franchise model, with teams moved about from city to city as their owners see fit. Worst case scenario I know, but nobody can convince me this isn't the direction these cnuts are pushing towards.

This is an insidious money grab by the mega wealthy scumbags who've found themselves with power over our beautiful game. That's all it is.

They don't give a shite about us fans, about our club, its history and roots in the local community. The value of local rivalries built up over decades upon decades.

Feck them and their greed. I hope to god this doesn't go through, and we as fans wake up and start pushing back against this creep of money above all else.
 
Well to be honest I am thinking of calling it a day with Utd, after 35 years of support I can’t actually believe I’m contemplating that. Even if the Superleague doesn’t go ahead I think the intent is enough, along with the arrogance. Glazer is Vice Chairman of the SL, makes me sick.

I think it’s time for Green and Gold to make an appearance, can we change the forum colours ASAP? It would be a start!
 
Glazers invest most when we miss out on the CL, without that issue, why do some think they'll be investing into the team more now? It goes against the pattern of behaviour they've shown in recent times.

Why would they invest at all ? This super league will bring them ton of money regardless.
 
Honestly if we join some shit plastic league I won't care for Manchester United anymore. The club I love will be dead.

I'll most likely lose interest as well. Atleast I'll have time to do better things on the weekends.