Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold controls the ball during the second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid at Anfield on 14 April 2021 in Liverpool, England.
Shaun Botterill | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images
Twelve of Europe’s leading football clubs have agreed to set up a Super League, despite widespread criticism of the plans.
A statement from the new competition reads: ‘AC Milan, Arsenal, Atlético Madrid, Chelsea, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur have all joined as founding clubs.
“It is expected that three more clubs will join before the first season, which is intended to start as soon as possible.”
Florentino Pérez, president of Real Madrid 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. ‘
The project is being launched to compete with UEFA’s Champions League format, which currently dominates European football, and this is because UEFA would sign the plan for an expanded and restructured Champions League on Monday.
The new Super League has been criticized by politicians such as Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labor Party leader Sir Keir Starmer, as well as former players such as Gary Neville.
Mr. Johnson said the new league “will be at the heart of the domestic game and will affect fans across the country.”
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He added: “The clubs involved must respond to their fans and the wider football community before taking further steps.”
Sir Keir said the plans ignored the fans, adding: “Football in empty stadiums has not been the same over the past year. I can not wait to return to matches. But this proposal could open the door for the fans for well close., to reduce it to mere spectators and consumers.
“The clubs involved in this proposal must reconsider immediately. And if they do not, they must face the consequences of their actions. Because football without supporters is nothing.”
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville told Sky Sports: ‘I’m not against modernizing football competitions, we have the Premier League, the Champions League, but I’m thinking of making proposals amid COVID and the economic crisis for all clubs is an absolute scandal.
“United and the rest of the ‘Big Six’ who have signed up against the rest of the Premier League should be ashamed of themselves.”
Neville added: “They have to deduct six points from all six teams that have signed up. Deduct rejects everyone. To do it during a season? It’s a joke.”
UEFA, the FA and the Premier League, among others, expressed opposition and said in a joint statement that they “remain united in our efforts to stop this cynical project”, adding: “We thank the clubs in other countries, especially the French and German clubs, who refused to sign up.
“This sustained self-interest of a couple has been going on for far too long. Enough is enough.”
The English FA said: “We will not grant permission for any competition that would be detrimental to English football, and will take any legal and / or regulatory action necessary to protect the wider interests of the game.”
In the Super League competition, there will be 20 participating clubs – 15 founding clubs and another five teams that can qualify annually based on their achievements during the previous season.
It will start in August with clubs competing in two groups of ten, playing home and away matches, some during the week, and the top three in each group qualifying for the quarter-finals.
Teams finishing fourth and fifth will compete in a two-legged playoff round of the remaining quarterfinals before using a knockout format to reach the final at the end of May, which will be presented as a single match in a neutral spot.
Club players will be able to continue in their national leagues and as soon as possible after the men’s competition starts, a women’s league will also be launched.