The catastrophic attempt to launch a closed European super-club competition the previous year was met with the wrath of fans, with plans withdrawn days after they were released. But, Juventus head Andrea Agnelli believes the competition was not a failure.
The European Super League lasted three days, or, at least, the idea that 12 of the continent’s biggest clubs will play in a close competition alongside eight more instead of the Champions League. The launch of the tournament was met with overwhelming opposition from fans, clubs, and football authorities, and, 72 hours later, like a deck of cards, the participant clubs folded, one after the other; all but three: Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Juventus.
Rumor has it, the competition is back on the agenda, with a repurposed model set to be made public shortly. Juventus chief Andrea Agnelli’s statement at the recent FT Business of Football Summit might not have explicitly stated the same. Agnelli did, however, refuse to accept that the idea was a complete failure.
“To me, it is not a failure. We have been hearing projects of potential breakaway leagues ever since I was a teenager,”
“Last year was the first time that not one, not two, not three, but 12 clubs made a very important statement that was a profound alarm to the system.”
he said.
The three who remain are currently engaged in a legal battle with UEFA in the European Court of Justice. They believe that UEFA’s part in the attempted abolishment of the Super League goes against the law – and that promotion of any idea should be allowed in a free market.
“Any promoter should be allowed, in a free environment, to promote a product and then if people are qualified, invited, they can freely decide (to join) without being told no by a monopolistic operator, and the only gatekeeper for the industry,”
Agnelli said.
Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham, Arsenal, Liverpool, Inter Milan, AC Milan, and Atletico Madrid were listed as the other nine founding members of the competition – those that have since resigned. It remains to be seen whether a reworked version of the tournament brings them back to the table, along with other heavyweights such as Bayern Munich and Paris Saint Germain, who refused to get involved in the idea in the first place.
