Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus have issued a joint statement refusing to abandon the Super League, despite what they claim to be ‘unacceptable' pressure and threats to do so, and will continue to pursue similar concepts in the future.
After fan pressure forced the competition’s collapse with 48 hours of its launch, nine of the original 12 clubs that signed up to join the failed Super League have now agreed to sanctions imposed by UEFA and pledged their future commitment to existing international and domestic club competitions.
Those that have accepted punishment for their actions that threatened the very nature of sport are Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Inter AC Milan and Atletico Madrid. But Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus have refused to back down.
UEFA say they will face 'appropriate action', while the others have already agreed to giving up 5% of revenue from one seasons' worth or European competition and an aggregate donation of €15m.
The stubborn trio continue to claim the Super League concept was and is for ‘the good of football’, despite concentrating ridiculous wealth in what was intended to be virtually a closed competition, and that it would ‘reinforce global interest’ in football.
Absolutely nothing to do with all three clubs having squads loaded with ageing high earners who will be difficult to shift because of years of mismanagement and poor market decisions https://t.co/TvNkLpXfv2
— Scott Saunders (@_scottsaunders) May 8, 2021
They say they will ‘reconsider the proposed approach’ but claim it would be ‘highly irresponsible’ to abandon the project altogether because of what they call a ‘systemic crisis’ in the football industry.
In Spain, El Partizado de COPE has reported that UEFA president Aleksandar Ceferin will propose in the wake of this season’s Champions League final that Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus all be banned from European competitions for two years.
Such a move could have huge financial ramifications on the three clubs, who are already reeling from lost revenue as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Funding unsustainable financial models and spiralling costs is thought to have been a significant motivating factor behind the Super League.
Strip it down to basics and, while this is an oversimplification, the argument is basically: we managed to get into a mess with this system which gave us absolutely loads of money and almost total dominance so we need more and they’re evil for not allowing it
— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) April 24, 2021
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Source : 90min