All the hype and uproar over the European Super League was apparently for nothing.
Photo via CBS
Barely 48 hours after announcing their participation in the breakaway competition… Man United, Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham all say they are now pulling out.
To recap, the Premiership Big Six – together with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan announced on Sunday that they were breaking away from the Champions League to play in their own closed-format competition.
The 12 ‘founding clubs’ would be guaranteed their place in the Super League regardless of their performance…with other places to be awarded to certain ‘invited’ teams.
Now that the English clubs have pulled out, though….it is uncertain if the other European sides will proceed with the initial plan.
Photo via Stadium Astro
The Super League has since issued a statement, saying it is looking to ‘reshape’ amid the latest withdrawals.
But for all intents and purposes…its looking like the Super League idea – in its current form - is now essentially dead.
This will be considered a major victory for supporters, players and coaches who were strongly opposed to the breakaway plans.
They had accused the Super League sides of being money-grabbers – who were only interested in lining their pockets without a care about sportsmanship, fairness or the integrity of the game.
Sceptics (and conspiracy theorists), however, say there’s actually no reason to celebrate.
According to these folks…the 12 clubs never intended to form the Super League in the first place and were merely using it to strong-arm UEFA into giving them more money.
That plan appears to have worked.
Photo via Reuters
Almost the same time as the EPL’s Big Six announced that they were pulling out of the Super League…reports emerged that UEFA was considering a financial revamp of the Champions League in response to the recent controversy.
Sources say the revamp includes an additional 6 billion pounds in funding, which will result in higher earnings for participating teams.
Read into that what you will…but it appears that with or without the Super League, Europe’s wealthiest clubs somehow managed to make themselves a little richer.
By: Nicholas Darren John
