New Plans For European Super League Revealed Before Being Backed By Real Madrid And Barcelona
The European Court of Justice ruled on Thursday that UEFA and FIFA were breaking competition law by threatening to sanction clubs that joined a European Super League.
UEFA and FIFA are "abusing a dominant position", according to the court.
However, it was also said in court that a Super League may not "necessarily be approved", despite Thursday's ruling.
Plans for a breakaway Super League were announced in April 2021 but failed to take off after heavy protests from fans, as well as threats made by the existing governing bodies of European and world soccer.
Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United all agreed to join in 2021 before later pulling out following the backlash.
AC Milan, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid were also supposed to be founder members.
New European Super League Proposal
A22 Sports Management was tasked with promoting the European Super League in 2021.
Just one hour after Thursday's ruling, A22 outlined a new proposed format for the competition.
Under the new proposals, the ESL would comprise of three tiers and involve 64 teams:
- Star League (16 teams)
- Gold League (16 teams)
- Blue League (32 teams)
There would also be a women's version of the ESL featuring 32 teams.
A new proposal for a European Super League was published on Thursday
IMAGO/Herrmann Agenturfotografie
Teams in each league would be split into groups of eight and play each other both home and away, guaranteeing a minimum of 14 matches per club per season.
These group games would take place on midweek evenings between September and April.
The top four clubs from each group in the Gold and Star Leagues, and the top two teams from each group in the Blue League would then progress to the quarter-finals.
Quarter-finals and semi-finals would both be two-legged, with the final of each section being a one-off game at a neutral venue.
All games would be available to be streamed live by fans at no cost.
Promotion/Relegation
The bottom team in each group in the Star League would be relegated and replaced by the two Gold-tier finalists.
Similarly, the clubs that finish last in each Gold group would drop down to the Blue tier in the following season, making way for the two Blue League finalists.
Twenty teams would be relegated from the Blue League each season and be replaced by clubs based on their performances in domestic competitions, such as the Premier League.
Real Madrid And Barcelona Continue To Back Super League Project
While 10 of the original 12 proposed founder members all withdrew, Real Madrid and Barcelona have remained in favor of the ESL.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has played a leading role in campaigning for the tournament, having previously been appointed as ESL chairman.
Reacting to Thursday's news from the European Court of Justice, Perez hailed a "great day for the history of football".
In a statement, Perez expressed his "enormous satisfaction" with the ruling and added that clubs will now be "the masters of their own destiny".
He said: "Today we once again have the duty and responsibility to give European football the new impetus it so badly needs.
"And to achieve this, we will continue to defend a modern project, fully compatible with national competitions, open to all, based on sporting merit and that will effectively impose respect for financial fair play. A project that will bring economic sustainability for all clubs and that above all will protect the players and excite fans around the world."
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is one of the leading forces behind the proposed European Super League
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Barcelona also released a club statement on Thursday. It read: "In a year when the club is celebrating its 125th anniversary, Barca wishes to continue to offer its experience and knowledge of different sports to propose solutions for current issues in elite sport.
"That is why it is declaring its support for the Super League promoted by A22 and encourages constructive debate among both domestic and international football bodies, which have now been endorsed by today's sentence by the Court of Justice of the European Union."
However, Manchester United said in a statement that they "remain committed to playing in competitions run by UEFA despite Thursday's EU court verdict".
Bayern also rejected the proposal, claiming that it "represented an attack" on domestic football in Europe.
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid said on Thursday: "The European football family doesn't want the European Super League.
"Germany, France, England, Italy, Spain [except Real Madrid and Barcelona] don't want the Super League.
"We're in favor of protecting the European football family, protecting domestic leagues and, through them, qualification for European competitions on the pitch each season."
