As reports emerged on Sunday that five Premier League clubs are due to break away from UEFA in favour of a European Super League, fans have reacted with almost-universal disgust.
The Times reports that Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham have signed up to the breakaway plan that challenges UEFA plan to reform the Champions League.
Manchester City, it is reported, are the only member of the so-called 'Big Six' not to do so.
The extraordinary move was reported the day before UEFA plan to announce their plans for the competition on Monday.
Reaction
I’ve hyperbolised about my urge to abandon football over the past 2 years or so - and I love United, they’re a huge part of my life - but if this happens and we lose national league football, I am 100% done. https://t.co/Aosedz8Rft
— PWL (@PintsUTD) April 18, 2021
It’ll end there for me if this happens https://t.co/n9lHAnJnhH
— Dean (@_dea_n) April 18, 2021
Fuck this, think I'll piss off and support Everton. https://t.co/aaXzLmUhFE
— Kieron Duffin (@KieronDuffin) April 18, 2021
Reckon I’ll be done with football if this happens. Sounds fucking boring! https://t.co/H7YH1O9Czt
— Ruairí Sheridan (@RuairiSheridan5) April 18, 2021
@DarraghHoban hold up, how the f**k are City coming out of something as the morally sound club and how on earth did Arsenal get the choice to join, this is disgraceful
— Jamie Hoban (@JamieHoban2) April 18, 2021
Super League
Martyn Ziegler has it that the Super League proposals include:
- The 15 founders sharing an initial €3.5billion (£3.1billion) euro “infrastructure grant” ranging from £310million to £89million per club which can be spent on stadiums and training facilities.
- Income from TV and sponsorship would favour the founding clubs: 32.5% of the pot would be shared equally between the 15 clubs, and another 32.5% between all Super League clubs including the five qualifiers
- The format involves two groups of 10 clubs playing home and away, with the top four from each group going through to two-legged quarter-finals, semi-finals and a one-legged final.
- Matches would be midweek and clubs would still play in domestic leagues
- Clubs would have rights to show four matches a season on their own the digital platforms across the world
- A ‘Financial Sustainability Group’ would monitor clubs’ spending
- 20% of the money would be merit money 'distributed in the same manner as the current English Premier League merit-based system' according to where clubs finish in the competition or group if they don’t make the knock-out stage
- The remaining 15% would a “commercial share based on club awareness”
- A cap of 55% of revenues permitted to be spent on salaries and transfers (net)
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