The 12 rebel clubs that plan to form a European Super League (ESL) are “ready for dialogue” with local leagues and UEFA, sources told ESPN.
With widespread hostility and opposition to the ESL proposal announced in football on Sunday, as well as political leaders such as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron, the leaders in the breakaway cabal accept that there is a need for high-level talks in order to set out their plans.
UEFA president Alexander Ceferin described the group’s leaders as “snakes” during an explosive news conference, in which he also said that the proposals, which involve Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester United and others, were a ‘ spit in the face of football was’. lovers. “
The president of Real Madrid, Florentino Perez, the chairman of the ESL group, responded by saying that football must ‘change and adapt’, while rejecting Ceferin’s threat that the rebel clubs will be banned for UEFA competitions.
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A meeting of the 14 Premier League clubs not involved in the proposal – the ESL plan includes Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham – in an attempt to agree on a strategy to combat the initiative.
A statement following the meeting read: ‘The Premier League, along with the FA, met with clubs today to discuss the immediate implications of the Super League proposal.
“The 14 clubs at the meeting unanimously and forcefully rejected the plans for the competition. The Premier League considers all available actions to prevent it from progressing, and holds the shareholders concerned accountable under its rules.
‘The League will continue to work with key stakeholders, including supporter groups, the government, UEFA, the FA, EFL, PFA and LMA to protect the best interests of the game and appeal to the clubs participating in the proposed competition involved to immediately cease their involvement.
“The Premier League would like to thank fans and all stakeholders for the support they showed this week on this important issue. The response proves how much our open pyramid and football community means to people.”
Anger over the breakaway plan has remained intense with fans burning a Liverpool shirt ahead of Monday’s game against Leeds United at Elland Road, and key ESL figures believe talks could slow things down and lead to a greater understanding of the proposals can lead, sources said.
Sources told ESPN that during Tuesday’s Premier League meeting there was great anger over the behavior of the six absent clubs, but also the recognition that a dialogue should be conducted to bring them back to the negotiating table.
Several clubs have implemented their approval for the threat of heavy sanctions in an effort to make those who did not attend realize the seriousness of their actions, sources added.
Under the ESL plan, an annual solidarity payout of € 160 million would be paid to the Premier League clubs to ensure that the money generated by the new competition would go to the domestic game.
ESL leaders are determined to highlight their vision of staying in domestic leagues while only playing in a Super League in the middle of the week.
Opposition to the proposals, however, remains strong, with national leagues and associations teaming up in their determination to stop any breakaway competition.
Information about James Olley of ESPN was used in this report