European Super League - Does anybody think this is a good idea?

Don't like it.

I'm glad that there's a couple big teams, like Bayern Munich and PSG that are not on board. I don't think super league can have any credibility without the best teams from all the top leagues. Hopefully that and UEFA's strong opposition is enough to kill the plan.

Dumb idea.

It really is a quest for more $. Pure and simple.

It's basically the most popular clubs wanting a bigger piece of the pie and trying to force UEFA's hand. The funny thing is UEFA has been discussing re-vamping the Champions League tournament (including more teams and money for the clubs).

MeHereYouWhere?! wrote:

The funny thing is UEFA has been discussing re-vamping the Champions League tournament (including more teams and money for the clubs).

Maybe the idea is to try and force UEFA to structure Champions League so that it favors the larger clubs more......profits, scheduling etc. So this could be an attempt to squeeze UEFA for more.

I haven't seen anyone who thinks this is a good idea. Fan groups of Chelsea, Tottenham and either Man U or Arsenal have already come out in opposition.

UEFA is about to announce its revamped Champions League, which was supposed to mollify these big clubs. But I guess the big clubs viewed it as a non-starter, so they went forward with the Super League.

It's a giant game of chicken. Who will back down first? FIFA will ban players in the Super League from playing in the World Cup. Will the players themselves revolt against the Super League? I also heard that UEFA was considering awarding this year's Champions League to PSG, since the other 3 teams are in the Super League. If this is true, I don't think they will follow through since it will cost too much money.

johnny99 wrote:

I also heard that UEFA was considering awarding this year's Champions League to PSG, since the other 3 teams are in the Super League.

I cannot imagine thin being true, but if so City and Pep denied Champions League glory this way would be funny.

This Super League will be able to pay the best players A LOT more money, so that might be enough for players to ignore FIFA's threat of banning them from the World Cup. Players aren't dummies. FIFA will blink first, because who cares about the World Cup when you don't have Messi to laugh at when he doesn't win again.

Glad to see some discussion here because all my usual Internet football haunts have gone nuts with loads of comments and it's hard to have an actual discussion.

There is only one purpose for this super league: the billionaire owners want to protect their investment by locking in guaranteed revenue and eliminating the chance they would lose out by not qualifying for the Champions League, becoming a consistent mid table club (Arsenal cough cough), or generally never competing to win anything (Tottenham cough cough). While I would delight in Arsenal and Tottenham scraping the bottom of this super league, I don't know who actually wants this but the billionaire owners. It would be so boring to see football turn into the NFL where teams like the Browns and Lions have no incentive to ever be good yet keeping rolling in dough. One of the glories of football is that clubs get punished for being terrible, which gives them incentive to actually try to improve. Teams like Ajax scraping their way to the Champions League semis or Leicester winning the league or even just a relegation threatened team beating one of the super clubs is what makes football great.

I hope these clubs get penalized by every footballing organization that can do it and then lose out on all the revenue they expected. Meanwhile, maybe the Premier League and other major leagues will embark on similar reforms to what the Bundesliga has done to ensure financial stability and maintain competition (aside from Bayern winning every year). I hope every level of the game, from the fans up to the national associations, give this a strong rebuke and we can see some real reform in football that reduces the influence of mega money on the game.

And the most ironic thing about the quest for more money with this super league is that many of the top teams are in dire financial situations, and that was even before the pandemic. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Inter, AC Milan pretty much blew out their transfer and salary budgets before the pandemic. All the English clubs make terrible signings and constantly throw money into the void. The quest for money with the super league is a response to their own mismanagement (along the failure of football associations to create sustainable financial management, to be fair).

So yea, these clubs will get more money in a super league but they still will find a way to blow it all on something or another. It's basically like being married to a gold digger.

I dont see a big issue with it. Its just another step towards clubs being companies. Most big clubs are already owned by countries, hedgefonds or companies. Those companies just decided they will make a new league because it will make them more money. It really isnt a big step after quatar owning football clubs already. I stopped watching football some time ago because it has become very predictable

Backlash appears to be wicked right now. Even if this doesn't happen, the idea that these clubs want to make more money at the expense of the leagues that made them big will ruin their reputations (further ruin) with fans around the world. Might be a miscalculation.

(PS. I started a thread about a JP morgan boycott but decided to merge it)

My thread was entitled, "Soccer/Football fans, are you going to boycott of JP Morgan for their financing of Super League?"

I don't even follow European soccer very much but the super league is something I'm VERY much opposed to. It is simply greed at the highest level.

Along those lines, has anyone started a boycott of JP morgan for their role in this?

"The project is sufficiently advanced that the clubs have held discussions with the American investment bank JP Morgan, which would underwrite the league by debt financing and set it against future broadcast revenue. Coincidentally, JP Morgan has a longstanding relationship with the Glazer family, the owners of Manchester United and they are former employers of executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward."

To those of you who say it's capitalism as its finest, well guess what. Capitalism works both ways.

https://theathletic.com/2527261/2021/04/19/european-super-league-explained-the-contracts-plots-and-threats-that-shook-football-to-its-core/

I’m not sure what the problem is. This is Capitalis at its finest.

Rojo is trying to regulate the decision like he is big government.

That’s communism:

The Super league is the actual team owners making the Statement , they own the team and pay the players . These League commissioners realize they are not in charge now . This is good for the game.

Will be interesting to see how this shakes out. Champions League (and Europa league for the second tier teams) has always been entertaining, so I would hate to see that impacted. Without Bundesliga teams participating, it is not as prestigious as they want to make it out to be. A lot of these big clubs took huge losses last year during COVID, so I view this as a desperate attempt at becoming solvent again.

Somebody translate this to comprehensible English?

sayyestonepotism wrote:

I dont see a big issue with it......... I stopped watching football some time ago because it has become very predictable

Then doesn't this disqualify your opinion? Are there any hardcore "soccer" fans who don't see this as an issue?

Footy# wrote:

The Super league is the actual team owners making the Statement , they own the team and pay the players . These League commissioners realize they are not in charge now . This is good for the game.

Except that 99% of fans hate it. I would not want to be a player on one of those 12 teams. You're not supposed to speak out against your employer, but I'd feel horrible playing in a Super League game. People who hatched this plan underestimate the power of tradition.

I really don't see many people in the US willing to change their bank, credit card, or refinance their mortgage over this issue.

buzzcolorado wrote:

I would not want to be a player on one of those 12 teams.

Money talks. That super league will be able to pay players essentially whatever they ask for. You think PSG will be able to keep Mbappe when United will be able to offer him 5 times as much as PSG are willing to pay him?

Rojo, would you mind merging the other thread on this please.

Stan Kroenke thinks its a good idea. He also thinks Nuggets and Avs fans not being able to see those teams on TV in Colorado is a good idea.