[AZT]

The UK govt intends to fight this to the end, plans include mandating local / fan ownership of clubs to denying work permits to foreign players. JP Morgan itself could be back channel pressured to scrap this altogether.

This was either a negotiating tactic to get more concessions by UEFA or they are in this to the end. At this level you do a major outcome analysis so JPMC and the clubs knew this was going to happen.

https://www.theguardian.com/football...on-do-about-it

[Chetan_Rao]

League football everywhere should've adopted the German model (50+1) with commercial holding banned beyond 49% stake.

The next best time is now, but who's going to front up the cash to get greedy owners out?

Premier League itself has no leg to stand on. They primarily formed in the 90s because they though the FA was too incompetent and bureaucratic to grow the English top flight financially. How the turntables!

[Eshan Joshi]

Originally Posted by am1m

I mean it's not like Indian cricket and the BCCI where a lot of politicians/ministers hold cricket administrative posts, so why does Boris need to get involved here at all?! Potentially affects the livelihood of the EPL, so that's why? He wants to be seen to be concerned about an issue that is so emotional to millions of British voters?

This is what he said:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/b...ague-fp85lvwxv

He just seems concerned.



Any ways here are some player and manager reactions of they ESL clubs.

Milner does not want this to happen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnEP6y6xn3E

Jurgen and Tuchel have not given a clear answer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faPdpBNT7ME

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCxDIb_lfsQ

The Arsenal board are gonna have a meeting about the ESL with the players. We will see what will happen.

Other than that, UEFA is planning to kick out Real, Chelsea and Man City from the UCL Semi.

[Vitalstatistiks]

A BIT CONTRARIAN, in the spirit of discussion.

Question: Is the proposal unprecedent and unique?

Answer: HARDLY. Football has a history of reinventing the playing system, the most recent of which was culminated in the Premier League and the Champions League as we know them today. My knowledge of the English League is better so I will stick to example from that.

In mid-1980s, the clubs in the Football League (predecessor of the PL) threatened to breakaway and managed to wrestle a favorable financial arrangement, getting up to 50% of TV and sponsorship revenues.

The negotiations of broadcasting rights in 1988 were again conducted under the threat of top 10 clubs leaving the League to form a 'super league' (sounds familiar?) unless they were paid more.

In 1990s, the top five clubs of English football (again, sounds familiar?) teamed up with ITV and, in collusion with FA, presented the plan of a Premier League, with the sole purpose of making more money. The Football League clubs 'resigned' in 1992 and joined the Premier League.

Q: BUT, no- they maintained the structure of football even when they created PL. Clubs could get relegated and promoted. The Super League is a closed shop!

A: Really? Well, for one, there aren't enough details about the Super League for any of us to take extreme position on the matter. What we know as of now is that it is a replacement of the mid-week matches that clubs played i.e. Champions League and Europa League. IT IS NOT A REPLACEMENT FOR THE DOMESTIC LEAGUES. The concept and joy/pain of promotion and relegation is a domestic league concept and that is not proposed to be touched by the Super League. A Tier 4 club can rise through the ranks and win the Premier League in future, as they can today.

Q: Hello? What are you saying? What about the opportunity to play in the Champions League based on domestic league position? The romance of Leicester v. European Clubs, or the chance of West Ham to lock horns with continental opposition next year.

A: Umm- that's not being changed either. The UEFA competitions can continue as before. Based on league positions, the teams will continue to lock horns with other teams in Europe.

Q: But, hello! They won't get to play the likes of Real Madrid or Barca.

A: Umm, again- so? Is there any right of anyone to meet the likes of RM or Barca in European competition? It's not RM League or Barca League. Anybody who does well in the domestic league, will get a chance to play in Europe. What if RM/Barca don't make it to CL?

Q: But man, doesn't that de-value the European competition itself? That will have an impact not only on the prestige of the competition but also money that can be made.

A: True, it will. And that is where the real colors of stakeholders start to emerge, no? Even those clamoring to 'save the football' are essentially fighting for more money. And if everyone is so clear that the prestige and revenue drivers of these competitions are these so-called big clubs, what is wrong with the big clubs asking for more money in the current format. But there suddenly everybody becomes socialist and wants to spread the money around. You see the problem?

Q: Ok. But this won't be just another competition. It will essentially kill the Champions League.

A: Doesn't Europa League exist side-by-side with Champions League? It is the same competition for teams with with poorer performance. It has less money and prestige and the Champions League will essentially become equivalent to Europa League to the Super League. It's adding another step to the ladder.

Q: Aha! Nailed you! The real problem is that the Super League is not another step in the ladder. It is a closed shop, where only select clubs play!

A: Umm, no. While there are 12/15 founding members, there is proposal for 5 to 8 clubs to be invited every year in the same way they are invited to CL every year.

Q: But it's only 5-8 clubs. There is no democracy- all the positions should be available to all clubs based on performance!

A: Fair enough. But all the financial risk is also being taken by these clubs, they will need some guarantees to be able to recover that. At the end of the day, the clubs are also businesses. We, the fans, clamor for the 100 million signing every window but don't want to pay for pay-per-subscription or increased ticket prices or higher merchandise fee. Where do they make money from?


To summarize:

Let's be clear, I am not a fan of the Super League idea. I definitely hate the way they have gone about communicating their plans. But I do think there is a bit too much pontification going on from all parties. The epitome of corruption, UEFA and FA, have taken to sermonizing, firing from the shoulders of the fans. They are raising a hue and cry over the big clubs challenging their dominance but it has come to this only because they were not paying the due of the big clubs in the competitions.

If the big clubs are not big clubs, let them go and do their own thing! If, on the other hand, they are this important that they have to get the British government involved, why would you not engage with them in a way that satisfies all parties?

And don't get me started with the threats of cancelling previous titles, cancelling players from playing for national teams! Man- my blood boils. If anything is closed shop, it is the UEFA and FA competitions right now. They won't pay the big guys their due and they wont let them leave. Why not put the clubs in chains and force them to play year after year in meaningless matches.

[AZT]

And it all falls apart. Chelsea and city on the verge of backing out and Ed Woodward resigning according to reports. Good point by a twitter handle.

Note the clubs that stuck with the Super League longest: Agnelli's Juve, Perez's Real Madrid + the US-owned profit-seeking quartet of Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal and Milan; Spurs and Inter also in the profit-seeking group. Oligarch-run Chelsea + Man C don't care about profits

https://twitter.com/KuperSimon/statu...79776782819328

[Chetan_Rao]

Cynical view of a weary football fan: This was meant to be a distraction to begin with, because voices were getting louder as to how financially fragile the current model already is, and the need for reform.

'Show them it can get worse, and they'll be glad to keep status quo.'

[ottocycle]

From Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Super_League

Founded 18 April 2021; 3 days ago
Abolished 21 April 2021; 0 days ago
Region Europe
Number of teams 20 (planned)
Motto "The best clubs. The best players. Every week."

Bye bye super league. You were fun

[AZT]

A fun tidbit about the "joining bonus" super league clubs were offered

[1985Darkkid85]

Looking forward to the Manu vs Liverpool game tomorrow

Common, you reds!

Must win for us Liverpool fans to keep hopes of a CL spot alive for the upcoming year.

[Chetan_Rao]

Wonderful FA Cup win for Leicester. A goal worthy of winning a final, and Kasper living up to the great Schmeichel name with two world-class saves.

[TrackDay]

Is Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Juventus ? The last time his entire collection was loaded into a trailer was when he moved to Juventus.

A neighbour of Ronaldo has claimed that that he saw Ronaldo's entire car collection being loaded into a trailer overnight by a team of mechanics from a Lisbon-based company named Rodo Cargo, which is specialised in moving luxury cars belonging to footballers all over the world.

A new video too emerged backing the claim of this neighbour, showing a Bugatti, a Mercedes G-Class and a Maserati being loaded on a trailer along with other cars outside Ronaldo's house in Turin, where the cars were stored.

Ronaldo's neighbour also said that in 2018, when the star footballer arrived in Turin to join his current club Juventus, two trucks turned up in front of his house and all his cars were off-loaded onto the street before going into the garage.

Source: https://auto.hindustantimes.com/auto...317278613.html

Video link : https://twitter.com/i/status/1394224226245255168

[Avinash_R]

His mom recently said that she'll convince him to move back to Sporting though his agent denied that he'll move there. The only other club that needs or could afford him is PSG.

[Chetan_Rao]

Schalke's Bundesliga agony: Champions for four minutes & 38 seconds - https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/57087325

[vamsi.kona]

LaLiga is having one of the best finishes ever. Atletico need to win their last match with Real Valladolid to clinch the title and Real Valladolid need a win to avoid relegation. RM need to win and hope Ateltico lose. In case both Atletico and Real draw their games Atletico will clinch the title.

And in SerieA Juventus is fighting for a Champions league spot in its last game. Quite a weekend ahead.

[kavensri]

Originally Posted by vamsi.kona

LaLiga is having one of the best finishes ever. Atletico need to win their last match with Real Valladolid to clinch the title and Real Valladolid need a win to avoid relegation. RM need to win and hope Ateltico lose. In case both Atletico and Real draw their games Atletico will clinch the title.

And in SerieA Juventus is fighting for a Champions league spot in its last game. Quite a weekend ahead.

Not only in La Liga and Seria A, there is everything to be played in Ligue 1 (top 4 separated by 4 points) and in EPL, we have 3 teams fighting for the 2 champions league positions. Only in Budesliga there is no excitement left!