European Super League
- Thread starter Asil Ahmad
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I wanted to know what everyone thinks of the European super league proposal I have thought about it from both a business perspective for law firms and from a football supporter angle. What annoys me about this is that Clifford Chance and Latham and Watkins are representing the side of the European super league.
Jessica Booker
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Think @M&ALawyer mentioned in the other thread that there needs to be a injection of money. I'd be looking for the shareholders to find that money rather than them constantly leveraging the debt to get the club in more debt while lining their billionaire pockets.
There is more than enough money in the game already in my opinion - its just been allowed to be completely mismanaged. If FFP was taken seriously and salary caps were put in place (I am not saying they need to be significantly lower than they are now, they just need to stop increasing so dramatically), then there would be plenty of money to go around.
All I can say is glad this has crashed as quickly as it was announced. A massive mis-reading of the room by a small number of greedy 🤬
There is more than enough money in the game already in my opinion - its just been allowed to be completely mismanaged. If FFP was taken seriously and salary caps were put in place (I am not saying they need to be significantly lower than they are now, they just need to stop increasing so dramatically), then there would be plenty of money to go around.
All I can say is glad this has crashed as quickly as it was announced. A massive mis-reading of the room by a small number of greedy 🤬
I do actually think that it could potentially be a very smart move from the Real Madrid president. Having the 12 clubs sign contracts so quickly means that even though clubs are pulling out now, there's a huge possibility of Perez attempting to sue these clubs for breach of contract. Real Madrid are in so much debt that it might have been tactical; there's been mentions of an ESL for many years now and it always seems to die away rather quickly, but from their financial perspective, it might work out well.
I'm just glad it looks like it won't happen from a fan's perspective. It would have completely taken away the excitement of smaller teams upsetting the "Top 6", for example with West Ham this season
I'm just glad it looks like it won't happen from a fan's perspective. It would have completely taken away the excitement of smaller teams upsetting the "Top 6", for example with West Ham this season
For those interested in the legal basis for UEFA's proposal to ban the players from the clubs involved from international football and other competitions, you may find this Twitter thread by an LSE law professor interesting:
I also saw that even though the Premier League were intent on kicking the 6 teams out, such a decision can only be made through special resolution... which means that the other 14 teams' votes wouldn't even be enough to see the 6 out!
My opinion, as an Arsenal fan, is that I was and still am absolutely disgusted by our and the other owners who are only interested in lining their pockets and having no regard for anything or anyone else. The arrogance of these individuals to try and destroy centuries-old clubs with centuries-old traditions for a short-term profit is staggering to me.
The anti-competitive nature of the proposed super league is the biggest problem here in my opinion. If there was relegation and promotion into it, I am sure that the backlash would be much less severe.
As Guardiola said today, once you remove achievement and merit from football, it is no longer sport. The beauty of a competition like the UCL, which clearly needs reform in some ways, is that you could have a team like a Porto in 2004 or a Leicester in 2016 winning the titles which is the beauty of sport.
I'm very happy the league seems to be dying a quick death judging by all the resignations and backtracking from clubs today and hope Arsenal do the same very soon but fear the damage may be done...
The anti-competitive nature of the proposed super league is the biggest problem here in my opinion. If there was relegation and promotion into it, I am sure that the backlash would be much less severe.
As Guardiola said today, once you remove achievement and merit from football, it is no longer sport. The beauty of a competition like the UCL, which clearly needs reform in some ways, is that you could have a team like a Porto in 2004 or a Leicester in 2016 winning the titles which is the beauty of sport.
I'm very happy the league seems to be dying a quick death judging by all the resignations and backtracking from clubs today and hope Arsenal do the same very soon but fear the damage may be done...
They won't kick the clubs out as they're too important to the league and generate so much revenue for the other clubs in terms of media rights etc. but they should absolutely be punished severely
Agree with the formatting issue of the league. That's how it's obvious that it's a completely US-backed idea, because it's the same way the MLS runs. No relegation, no promotion, just 2 leagues that meet each other in groups, and then for QFs, SFs and a Final.
What will be interesting to see in due course is what punishments are handed out! As a Chelsea fan, it was great to see the protests today because it truly shows how much impact people can have on things like this. Happy to see us in the process of withdrawal of course, but I still think that severe punishments could be on the way (even though UEFA seem to claim otherwise)
Also though, the arrogance to not even inform the players and managers of their plans and then hide behind them and make them face the media is staggering - the sooner reforms are implemented to prevent this from happening again the better 
Yeah exactly they want a franchise model like the NFL/MLB with guaranteed incomes every year so they can get the maximum ROI on their investments but that is not how European football works and is the beauty of it
Think this is the worst bit... felt bad for the Liverpool players yesterday taking the full front of the backlash on the way into Elland Road. Because at the end of the day, how many of those players (especially home-grown ones) would be willing to give up playing in the most competitive league in the world, but also the threat of not playing international football for their country!Also though, the arrogance to not even inform the players and managers of their plans and then hide behind them and make them face the media is staggering - the sooner reforms are implemented to prevent this from happening again the better
It's good to see though that more have started speaking up about it... I was initially worried that they'd remain quite silent out of fear of being sacked!
And the fact that if you lose your first few games, your club is effectively playing exhibition matches thereafter... it's just so badly thought through I'm amazed they even proceeded with it without consulting anyone else but the problem is that these owners literally don't care - read reports saying that they'd be happy if their players were banned from international football! HOW MUCH MORE SELFISH CAN YOU BE?!?!?!
I was actually thinking the same thing! Lose 4 games meaning it's impossible to qualify and you're still having to travel across Europe every other week 😅
Breaking news on BBC is that all six Premier League clubs are withdrawing from the proposal - thank goodness for that!!!!
Loving this thread idea btw.
Season ticket holder at United here so I thought I’d throw in my two cents.
The last 48-72 hours have been the craziest that I can remember in football. I think most fans are all in agreement with the absurdity of the ESL proposals.
But at a deeper level, the ESL was the tipping point of a culmination of fan exploitation that has been going on for nearly 30 years in this country. From shockingly high ticket prices; £80 football shirts; 15,000 seat allocation in a 80,000 stadium for a cup final; heavily leveraged acquisitions of football clubs leading to insoutenable levels of debt; several paid subscriptions needed to watch your own team play (Sky, BT, Amazon...); ridiculous kick-off times; and a general growing disconnect between the fans and the club hierarchy.
I hope the end of this ESL fiasco marks the beginning of a general push towards more fan-led growth in football. Whether that be adopting the 50 + 1 ownership model that is common in Germany, or whether the government step in with heavy regulation, the damage done to British football clubs and the entire pyramid needs to be addressed, and I anticipate will be addressed.
Yesterday showed the power of the average football supporter in the face of JP Morgan-backed American businessmen who have been out of touch with British supporters for the past generation. From a commercial perspective, I would hope this is the start of the “ESG” era in football that has taken over other sectors.
Those looking to buy football clubs and govern football clubs have now realised the societal impact of their decisions and I expect future sport legal advice offered to these clubs to account for this massively. (I hope.)
Rant Over!
Season ticket holder at United here so I thought I’d throw in my two cents.
The last 48-72 hours have been the craziest that I can remember in football. I think most fans are all in agreement with the absurdity of the ESL proposals.
But at a deeper level, the ESL was the tipping point of a culmination of fan exploitation that has been going on for nearly 30 years in this country. From shockingly high ticket prices; £80 football shirts; 15,000 seat allocation in a 80,000 stadium for a cup final; heavily leveraged acquisitions of football clubs leading to insoutenable levels of debt; several paid subscriptions needed to watch your own team play (Sky, BT, Amazon...); ridiculous kick-off times; and a general growing disconnect between the fans and the club hierarchy.
I hope the end of this ESL fiasco marks the beginning of a general push towards more fan-led growth in football. Whether that be adopting the 50 + 1 ownership model that is common in Germany, or whether the government step in with heavy regulation, the damage done to British football clubs and the entire pyramid needs to be addressed, and I anticipate will be addressed.
Yesterday showed the power of the average football supporter in the face of JP Morgan-backed American businessmen who have been out of touch with British supporters for the past generation. From a commercial perspective, I would hope this is the start of the “ESG” era in football that has taken over other sectors.
Those looking to buy football clubs and govern football clubs have now realised the societal impact of their decisions and I expect future sport legal advice offered to these clubs to account for this massively. (I hope.)
Rant Over!
Delighted that everything is crumbling down!
You want to win? Then compete!
In this social/political/financial we do not need to increment the Haves and the Have nots!
Plus the proposal started from Juventus..a team that is not aware of what football means!
You want to win? Then compete!
In this social/political/financial we do not need to increment the Haves and the Have nots!
Plus the proposal started from Juventus..a team that is not aware of what football means!
Jessica Booker
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- Aug 1, 2019
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