James Corden has publicly denounced plans for a European Super League on his US talk show.
The British TV presenter prefaced his opening monologue on Monday night's Late Late Show with the expectation that most of his American viewers would have little interest in what he was about to say.
Yet, he proceeded to explain why this development in European football - involving many American power brokers as it does - has left him "genuinely heartbroken."
"The truth is that this whole thing: making this move, these teams, these owners," he remarked on Monday night's show, "they will kill hundreds of other football teams that compete with them and have competed with them many times of the years.
"[They are] disregarding the fan-bases of those teams and the fan-bases of their own teams who are devastated about this too.
"This decision is monumental and I'm heartbroken by it, genuinely heartbroken by it. The owners of these teams have displayed the worst kind of greed I've ever seen in sport."
We talked about the #SuperLeague on the show tonight. pic.twitter.com/6n40FlkNsA
— James Corden (@JKCorden) April 20, 2021
A West Ham United fan, James Corden, the co-creator of Gavin & Stacey proceeded to explain the cultural significance of football clubs in Britain and why this development was such an affront to their importance.
"Many football teams in Britain are over 100 years old," he stated. "They were started by working-class people - built by and for the communities they play in.
"They are not franchises, but these new billionaire owners over the past 10, 12, 15 years have been buying up all the times and slowly but surely moved them away from the communities and foundations on which these teams were built."
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Devastated by the blunt realisation that football's power brokers simply "don't care" about what the clubs mean to fans, Corden went further still.
"I would say they look at the historical fan-bases of every single club with disdain," he suggested. "They want a closed shop where the rich get richer and don't care if the teams below them struggle."
James Corden in the stands before the 2017 Champions League Final held at the National Stadium, CardiffDespite the overwhelming influence of American owners at clubs like Manchester United and Liverpool, James Corden did not directly address the nationality of those involved.
"If this happens," he concluded, "I don't want to be over-dramatic but I do think it is the end of the sport we love, it truly is.
"What we can do - and I hope as fans we do - is remember the names of these owners, the owners of these teams that made this decision, how they hid behind a devastating pandemic as a reason to announce this while a season is being played.
"They didn't consult a single player, manager and they certainly didn't consult the fans of their teams. They've taken [the sport] and they're going to crush it.
"Don't forget the people who did this! In a decade's time when the Super League is thriving and these owners will think it is all water under bridge, don't ever forget it was them who took something so pure and so beautiful and beat the love and joy out of it.
"They did it for money and it is disgusting."
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