Fifteen of the biggest clubs in Europe are in talks to launch a European Super League, which is scheduled to start in time for the 2023-24 season, with a $ 6 billion (£ 4.3 billion) fund to fund the project supported, sources told ESPN.
If the initiative is successful, it will threaten the existence of the Champions League – the biggest club competition of football – with UEFA, as it announces a new 36-team format for the tournament on Monday to highlight the efforts of the top clubs. from the match. break away.
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As reported by The Times, English top clubs Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham are among the 11 European teams that have signed the Super League plan.
ESPN informed a person familiar with the blueprint that the proposed framework includes a total of 20 teams, with 15 permanent members who cannot be demoted.
A further five teams will be switched in and out of the competition based on performance, but the permanent members will include six Premier League clubs, three from La Liga, three from the Italian Serie A, two from the Bundesliga and one from the French League 1.
Sources told ESPN that JP Morgan, New York-based investment bank, will endorse the project with $ 6 billion distributed as loans to the teams.
Under pressure from the European Club Association, UEFA has drawn up plans to reform the Champions League format, with the new appearance competition to be launched on Monday, ahead of UEFA’s summit of the executive committee in Switzerland this week.
The planned entry into force in 2024, the revamped Champions League would involve 36 teams playing 10 group matches rather than six. The biggest clubs will also receive a larger prize money.
Sources told ESPN that UEFA intends to proceed with their announcement, and that any breakaway league is a prospect, with national associations UEFA and FIFA both having to approve the proposal.
Meanwhile, Serie A on Sunday convened an emergency council meeting to discuss a newspaper report stating that broadcaster DAZN is involved in new plans for the breakaway league, a source told Reuters.
The president of the league, Paolo Dal Pino, convened the meeting and the Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport reported that DAZN, which owns billionaire Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries, had been working on the formation of the league for some time.
According to the report, the meeting is attended at a distance, with the three Serie A clubs that could possibly be part of the new project: Juventus, Inter Milan and AC Milan.
It’s a tumultuous week for Serie A after seven clubs submitted a written request for Dal Pino to resign over matters that include managing plans to sell a stake in the league’s media business.
The plans are also likely to meet opponents of supporters – who are currently unable to respond to the discussions in stadiums due to COVID-19 safety protocols – with ESPN reporting last week that supporter groups were already furious about UEFA’s changes to the Champions registered. League.
Information from Reuters was also included in this report.