European Super League Mega Thread

[Trotter]

Here we go again.
Being proposed again as a 3/4 division 60/80 team league potentially with promotion/relegations

European Super League 'would be open competition' - BBC Sport

A new-look European Super League would be a competition with no permanent members and based on sporting performance, says A22 chief executive Bernd Reichart.

www.bbc.com

 

[Saoirse]

Here we go again.
Being proposed again as a 3/4 division 60/80 team league potentially with promotion/relegations

European Super League 'would be open competition' - BBC Sport

A new-look European Super League would be a competition with no permanent members and based on sporting performance, says A22 chief executive Bernd Reichart.

www.bbc.com

Notably it would start only with teams from EU countries - the proposal is probably legally solid there, and then they could try to get the PL teams on board again later.

It would replace the UEFA competitions for those taking part, so English clubs would be left taking part in rump tournaments with maybe German, Scottish, Turkish and Ukrainian sides. So I do think fans could end up backing it out of a lack of alternatives.

 

[Timberwolf]

Hate this shit but at the same time the finance of European football has become horribly imbalanced in the past few years. When Chelsea are spending more than all clubs in the Spanish, Italian, French and German leagues combined, you know we're in a very fucked place. Didn't Southampton spend more in Jan than the entirety of Serie A ffs??

Don't think there's a simple solution, but given the Premier League is fast becoming a de facto Super League anyway something surely has to change? Sadly feels like most options are pretty terrible in some way or other.

 

[easley91]

I think the biggest problem with the original idea was that it was a certain set of clubs with no relegation/promotion. I'm open minded if more clubs can join and go up/down.

The UEFA comps at the moment aren't anything special, even the Champions League has become stale (for me at least), so I wouldn't be completely against it if the format was right.

 

[SirHarryHotspur]

Here we go again.
Being proposed again as a 3/4 division 60/80 team league potentially with promotion/relegations

European Super League 'would be open competition' - BBC Sport

A new-look European Super League would be a competition with no permanent members and based on sporting performance, says A22 chief executive Bernd Reichart.

www.bbc.com

One sentence sums up the nonsense this A22 Sports Management is talking, the ECJ is going to rule that Barca, Juve etc can compete in any new league they like but they will not be able to take part in any competition that comes under the control of local FA's or UEFA without consent.

Reichart says the new ESL would contain 60 to 80 teams, each guaranteed a minimum of 14 matches per season and continue to play in their domestic leagues.

 

[wrd]

If it's open then there's little issue to be honest, I know we don't have absolute meritocracy in our game but we do aim to have it and this was the failing of the previous iteration. I think football has every right to explore different options if the ethos are correct. It has to consider the physical demands on the players with an additional competition though it's clear this is a play to relinquish the stranglehold on football that Fifa and Uefa have. I'm happy for a competition which gives the power back to the clubs but it has to be the clubs as a whole and not power in the hands of a select few.

 

[Dakes]

Hate this shit but at the same time the finance of European football has become horribly imbalanced in the past few years. When Chelsea are spending more than all clubs in the Spanish, Italian, French and German leagues combined, you know we're in a very fucked place. Didn't Southampton spend more in Jan than the entirety of Serie A ffs??

Don't think there's a simple solution, but given the Premier League is fast becoming a de facto Super League anyway something surely has to change? Sadly feels like most options are pretty terrible in some way or other.

True, the Premier League is fast becoming the de facto Super League. The super wealthy who want to own clubs would want to look towards the Premier League. Owning a PSG in a league like Ligue 1 is meaningless really. PL is the real flex where you wrestle against peers. The latter stages of the UCL has started to be dominated by English clubs as well. Would make sense for clubs in other leagues to be keen on a super league.

 

[SirHarryHotspur]

How do you measure the top 60 european clubs for this super league, if you use squad values then at number 24 Southampton, 30 C Palace, 34 Brentford, 43 Fulham and 50 Bournemouth would all qualify , these are all fine football clubs but you might as well keep the Champions League.

Most valuable clubs

www.transfermarkt.com

 

[Nick-TopSpursMan]

Amazing how Madrid, Barca, Inter, Juve etc had no issues when La Liga and Serie A were dominating but now it's English football there is a big problem. Also not our fault that these clubs have been so badly mismanaged along with their leagues that they're in financial peril. Shame on the PL for creating a world class league which the whole world wants to watch.

Let them set up their own Super League. They won't get any of the German clubs and they won't get PSG, so it will basically be:
Madrid
Barca
Atletico
Inter
Juventus
Milan
Napoli
Marseille
Lyon
Benfica
Porto
Ajax
PSV


The PL would still be the most watched competition and the above Super League would fail without the english clubs, PSG and the Bundesliga clubs.

 

[thebenjamin]

I don't get why English clubs would want any part of this and relinquish their huge financial dominance over the rest of Europe

 

[Bluto Blutarsky]

Lets be honest - any league that has 60-80 teams - is not "Super"

if they ever decide on 20 teams - that would be a "Super" league that would threaten PL for money - but it would effectively kill off the national leagues within each of their countries.

 

[Timberwolf]

Not sure I fully understand the purpose/appeal of the new proposal.

Since it would be in addition to domestic leagues rather than a select group of clubs leaving their leagues, and would be an 'open competition', is it simply an alternative to the Champions League without the English teams and with a worse format?

A diluted Champions League without English clubs would just be a bit shit, surely? I guess it might make the European clubs more money, but as a product it would be severely diminished compared to what punters have already got.

I guess the English teams could join down the line, but then we're almost back to square one with a different name and structure.

 

[Bluto Blutarsky]

Not sure I fully understand the purpose/appeal of the new proposal.

Since it would be in addition to domestic leagues rather than a select group of clubs leaving their leagues, and would be an 'open competition', is it simply an alternative to the Champions League without the English teams?

A diluted Champions League without English clubs would just be a bit shit, surely? I guess it might make the European clubs more money, but as a product it would be severely diminished compared to what punters have already got.

I guess the English teams could join down the line, but then we're almost back to square one with a different name and structure.

I agree - if this is in lieu of Champions League, its really dumb.

Won't they still need to get UEFA to sign off on it? If so, what is the incentive for UEFA to do this without any of the English teams? This seems like a poorer version of the CL.

I understand the desire for some of the European teams to find more revenue - but I don't think this will do that.

 

[The Apprentice]

Not for me, Clive.

 

[Timberwolf]

I agree - if this is in lieu of Champions League, its really dumb.

Won't they still need to get UEFA to sign off on it? If so, what is the incentive for UEFA to do this without any of the English teams? This seems like a poorer version of the CL.

I understand the desire for some of the European teams to find more revenue - but I don't think this will do that.

Yeah - it would be like when a good band breaks up and splits into two mediocre ones. Would simultaneously weaken the CL and create a rubbish, weird competitor.

Not sure what the answer is but I don't think this is it. Maybe a kind of European Super League (without the English teams) in addition to domestic leagues but with an open element? Like - every season one team from each respective country gets relegated or something?

Still pretty awful but at least gives the domestic leagues some lifeblood and creates a genuine financial competitor to the PL?

Only way I think it works is if UEFA condones it and allows the Super League teams into the CL, though. And that obviously isn't happening.

 

[carpediem991]

The whole thing will be designed to help the southern Europe giants to get fresh money. I just can not see how they will find a competition, that will not hurt the national league system. If you can get relegated and promoted within a Super League it takes a massive relevance of the national league system as the fight for the spots in the European competitions will be less significant.

Imagine following the Premier League and the only real difference between place 2 and 10 is tv money.

Maybe Portugal, Spain, Italy and maybe France should throw their national leagues in one pot. But please don't ruin the Bundesliga and Premier League.

 

[Trotter]

I agree - if this is in lieu of Champions League, its really dumb.

Won't they still need to get UEFA to sign off on it? If so, what is the incentive for UEFA to do this without any of the English teams? This seems like a poorer version of the CL.

I understand the desire for some of the European teams to find more revenue - but I don't think this will do that.

You seem to be missing the whole point.
Of course UEFA won’t sign off on this, this is competition against UEFA and is effect removing all the clubs that join it from the Champions League. They want to remove UEFA and take that slice of the money for themselves in effect.
If it comes to it what is more valuable, English and German clubs only in a Champions League, or the rest of Europe in a separate version of one, they are banking on the latter, and would probably be right to.

 

[whitesocks]

True, the Premier League is fast becoming the de facto Super League. The super wealthy who want to own clubs would want to look towards the Premier League. Owning a PSG in a league like Ligue 1 is meaningless really. PL is the real flex where you wrestle against peers. The latter stages of the UCL has started to be dominated by English clubs as well. Would make sense for clubs in other leagues to be keen on a super league.

This is true, but it allowed Qatar to buy another vote for their world cup bid. And the likely winners would probably already have a PSG superstar - Messi, Mbappe, Neymar on their books ready to promote their country further. They even bought beckham on the off chance that england might win it.
Makes you wonder if QSI will sell up there now. What is the point?

 

[PCozzie]

Which clubs are going to relinquish their place in their domestic 1st Division to play in the 3rd or 4th division of this new league? What would be in it for, say, Braga, or Royal Antwerp? Spending their season playing in Poland, or Slovenia they're going to be almost anonymous to anyone except their own fans. Would Marseille rather spend each year trying to pip PSG to the French title or become the European Norwich, forever yo-yoing between Super League 1 and 2?

I'm going down the Winchester until this all blows over.

 

[mil1lion]

Which clubs are going to relinquish their place in their domestic 1st Division to play in the 3rd or 4th division of this new league? What would be in it for, say, Braga, or Royal Antwerp? Spending their season playing in Poland, or Slovenia they're going to be almost anonymous to anyone except their own fans. Would Marseille rather spend each year trying to pip PSG to the French title or become the European Norwich, forever yo-yoing between Super League 1 and 2?

I'm going down the Winchester until this all blows over.

It's in addition to domestic football not in place of