Wednesday April 21, 2021
Billion euros project has collapsed
Boss declares Super League failed
With the establishment of a closed Super League, twelve top clubs startle European football. But a few days later the ghost after massive protests from politics, sport and above all the fan scenes is over again – at least for the time being.
No, they don’t really want the Super League to be buried that soon. Because just because at least six of the founding members of the society, which was highly controversial from the very first moment, pulled out of the collapsing project amidst wild roar, it is far from over. They believed for hours. “Under the current circumstances we will (…) redesign the project,” declared the initiators of the Super League after a nightly crisis meeting.
Even the president of the Italian soccer champions Juventus Turin, Andrea Agnelli, did not want to admit it for a long time, did not give up the plans yet. “There is a blood pact between our clubs, we will carry on,” he said in an interview with the newspaper “La Repubblica” that was held before the crisis meeting. The project still has a 100 percent chance of success. You don’t want to destroy the national leagues.
In the meantime, however, Agnelli has also turned around: After the withdrawal of the six English clubs, the Italian soccer champions Juventus Turin are also giving up the project of a European Super League as competition to the Champions League. When asked whether the project could be implemented despite the exit of the English clubs, Juventus President Andrea Agnelli told Reuters at noon: “To be frank and honest: No, it obviously won’t work.” Agnelli was one of the initiators of the project of a closed league with 20 participants, 15 of which should participate regardless of athletic qualification. He had fought for the Super League until the end.
“Project is no longer running”
The Juve president has now said that he has no regrets and remains convinced that European football needs change. “I remain convinced of the beauty of this project. But I have to admit that this project is no longer running.”
Before that, Manchester City, followed by Liverpool FC, Arsenal FC, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and, most recently, Chelsea FC, canceled their participation in the elite round.
Inter Milan is also no longer interested in the billion-dollar league. Thus, AC Milan and Juventus Turin remained from Italy as well as Real Madrid and FC Barcelona from Spain, which, however, had also withdrawn from the plans, according to the Spanish media. Atlético Madrid has already officially terminated its membership in the circle of big clubs: The “harmony between all members of the red and white family” is the most important thing, it said. Above all, however, it is about the wishes of the fans. The players and the coaching staff around head coach Diego Simeone were satisfied with the decision, it was emphasized. They are convinced that “sporting merits must take precedence over all other criteria”. Real Madrid are led by President Florentino Perez. The entrepreneur is the boss of the Super League.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin had welcomed the withdrawal of the clubs and is hoping for long-term cooperation with the top clubs. “I said yesterday that it was admirable to admit a mistake and these clubs made a big mistake,” said the Slovenian. “But they are back in line now and I know that they have a lot to offer not only to our competitions, but to the entire European game,” said the 53-year-old.
Ceferin apparently wants to refrain from direct consequences for the discerning deviants. “The most important thing now is that we carry on, rebuild the unity that we enjoyed the game before and move forward together,” said the head of the Football Association. As a threatening backdrop, he himself had previously brought an exclusion from the ongoing European Cup season and an EM and World Cup ban for all club professionals.
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