Soul of football on the line with Super League, says Palios

Reports started to circle on Sunday about a pending announcement from the European clubs involved, including English heavyweights Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, before an official announcement was made shortly before 11.30pm last night.

Under the proposal, 20 clubs would compete in a mid-week European Super League, with the 15 founder clubs, such as Spanish giants FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, as well as the English clubs, guaranteed to compete in the competition every season, sparking outrage from UEFA, the Premier League and supporters of all clubs across the country.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain this morning, Tranmere Rovers Chairman and former Football Association Chief Executive, Mr Palios, said: "For me, if you believe that this is not an ill-conceived negotiating tactic, because it's no coincidence that UEFA are about to set out their plans for the new Champions League, as a consequence this could be a case of this is the worst position you're going to get if you don't listen to what we're going to say.

"They (UEFA) must have understood that they would get the problem that they've got since.

"I think what you're actually seeing - and I'm an accountant and don't like to give melodramatic statements - is probably one of the final battles for the soul of football.

"If you look at it, what's always struck me is you have professional football and in a market, business will always try and kill it's competition.

"In football, as in most sports, what you're trying to do is reinvent competition and that's at the heart of this problem.

"These guys have clearly forgotten - if they ever remembered - that they are standing on the shoulders of giants.

"They can't just dismiss fans, which are the lifeblood of the game. They're not customers, they're fans. And they're entirely different."

Liverpool are one of six top Premier League clubs who have signed up to the breakaway Super League. Photo: PA

European Super League Statement in full

Twelve of Europe’s leading football clubs have today come together to announce they have agreed to establish a new mid-week competition, the Super League, governed by its Founding Clubs.

AC Milan, Arsenal FC, Atlético de Madrid, Chelsea FC, FC Barcelona, FC Internazionale Milano, Juventus FC, Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid CF and Tottenham Hotspur have all joined as Founding Clubs. It is anticipated that a further three clubs will join ahead of the inaugural season, which is intended to commence as soon as practicable.

Going forward, the Founding Clubs look forward to holding discussions with UEFA and FIFA to work together in partnership to deliver the best outcomes for the new League and for football as a whole.

The formation of the Super League comes at a time when the global pandemic has accelerated the instability in the existing European football economic model. Further, for a number of years, the Founding Clubs have had the objective of improving the quality and intensity of existing European competitions throughout each season, and of creating a format for top clubs and players to compete on a regular basis.

The pandemic has shown that a strategic vision and a sustainable commercial approach are required to enhance value and support for the benefit of the entire European football pyramid. In recent months extensive dialogue has taken place with football stakeholders regarding the future format of European competitions. The Founding Clubs believe the solutions proposed following these talks do not solve fundamental issues, including the need to provide higher-quality matches and additional financial resources for the overall football pyramid.

Competition Format

• 20 participating clubs with 15 Founding Clubs and a qualifying mechanism for a further five teams to qualify annually based on achievements in the prior season.
• Midweek fixtures with all participating clubs continuing to compete in their respective national leagues, preserving the traditional domestic match calendar which remains at the heart of the club game.
• An August start with clubs participating in two groups of ten, playing home and away fixtures, with the top three in each group automatically qualifying for the quarter finals. Teams finishing fourth and fifth will then compete in a two-legged play-off for the remaining quarter-final positions. A two-leg knockout format will be used to reach the final at the end of May, which will be staged as a single fixture at a neutral venue.

As soon as practicable after the start of the men’s competition, a corresponding women’s league will also be launched, helping to advance and develop the women’s game.

The new annual tournament will provide significantly greater economic growth and support for European football via a long-term commitment to uncapped solidarity payments which will grow in line with league revenues.

These solidarity payments will be substantially higher than those generated by the current European competition and are expected to be in excess of €10 billion during the course of the initial commitment period of the Clubs.

In addition, the competition will be built on a sustainable financial foundation with all Founding Clubs signing up to a spending framework. In exchange for their commitment, Founding Clubs will receive an amount of €3.5 billion solely to support their infrastructure investment plans and to offset the impact of the COVID pandemic.

Florentino Pérez, President Real Madrid CF and the first Chairman of the Super League said: “We will help football at every level and take it to its rightful place in the world. Football is the only global sport in the world with more than four billion fans and our responsibility as big clubs is to respond to their desires.”

Backing the new European league, Andrea Agnelli, Chairman of Juventus and Vice-Chairman of the Super League said: “Our 12 Founder clubs represent billions of fans across the globe and 99 European trophies.

"We have come together at this critical moment, enabling European competition to be transformed, putting the game we love on a sustainable footing for the long-term future, substantially increasing solidarity, and giving fans and amateur players a regular flow of headline fixtures that will feed their passion for the game while providing them with engaging role models.”

Joel Glazer, Co-Chairman of Manchester United and Vice-Chairman of the Super League said: “By bringing together the world’s greatest clubs and players to play each other throughout the season, the Super League will open a new chapter for European football, ensuring world-class competition and facilities, and increased financial support for the wider football pyramid.”