By Ben Bennett
Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid from Spain. Internazionale, AC Milan and Juventus from Italy. Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and, somewhat laughably, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur from England.
These are the twelve football clubs who sought to breakaway from mainstream European competition and contest their own closed-shop European Super League. Their plan also involved inviting along three other ‘permanent members’ that were yet to be found, as well as five lucky prize winners who would qualify via merit based on their domestic performance. The ‘new’ (more on that later) tournament would guarantee its founder members an initial share of €10 billon ‘during the initial commitment period’, giving them the kind of financial muscle that would cut the rope below them and leave every other football club scrambling for scraps, pennies, relevance and dignity. The ‘elite’ teams would then face each other on a more regular basis, based on the logic that Barcelona vs Liverpool is a more appealing fixture than, say, Liverpool vs Burnley to a worldwide audience.
The Worst of Intentions
To understand why these clubs have chosen to take action boils down to a mixture of opportunistic timing, a failure to understand the European football landscape, financial turmoil and – frankly – naked self-interest. The biggest drivers of the ESL are the owners or executives of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and the three American-owned English clubs, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal.
The two Spanish giants could claim to be the world’s biggest clubs and certainly Forbes has them 1 and 2 respectively on their latest list of most valuable teams – worth around USD$4.75b each.
Despite such valuations, however, the two footballing behemoths are sinking under mountains of debt. At Barcelona, the problem is more chronic with The Athletic reporting them to be up to USD$1.3b in the red. That’s down to a mixture of overspending and poor performance in European competition reducing their levels of prize money and television revenue. Juventus, meanwhile, are wary of being cut adrift from the biggest players in the game. The Italian league has sunk from its position as the apex of world football back in the 1990s to the point where empty stadiums and smaller television deals have Juventus paying Cristiano Ronaldo €31m a season to stay relevant.
Worried about becoming less and less competitive in Europe, their President Andrea Agnelli is more desperate than most to see the proposals come to fruition. And it is he who sits as vice-chairman on the ESL board alongside the three American Premier League executives. The Glazer family (Manchester United), John Henry (Liverpool) and Stan Kroenke (Arsenal) were the three leading voices representing the six English teams, all of whom are the biggest attractions and money-makers in the domestic game. However, only four of them qualify for Europe’s elite competition, the Champions League and so two miss out on a huge windfall each season, unlike in Spain where the three breakaway clubs have qualified each season for the past 9 years and the big two for the past 17 years. A failure to qualify puts those clubs at a big competitive and financial disadvantage – hence the appeal of an American-style closed competition which ensures they don’t miss out on huge windfalls estimated to be in excess of €82.5m per season.
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The Backlash Begins
The effects of Covid-19 have inevitably sped up the need for action. According to Guardian, the richest twenty clubs have lost out on a combined €1b in revenue over the past twelve months. Coupled with the already crippling debt of many of those clubs, it is no surprise that they have sought to leave now. This concept is nothing new, however, as the cream of European football have continually sought to maximise revenue streams and profitability as early as the 1970s. As football became more global and accessible in the 1990s, the biggest clubs really started to ramp up the idea of a breakaway from their domestic leagues. 1998 saw the introduction of the G-14, a quasi-union of the biggest teams to provide a collective voice against the game’s biggest governing bodies: FIFA and UEFA. Over subsequent years there have been multiple threats to leave, with the most consistently outspoken voice being that of Florentino Perez – the current president of Real Madrid.
Ultimately it was Perez who led this iteration of a breakaway, acting as chairman and chief spokesperson for the ESL. And on Sunday the 18th of April the threat became reality as a joint statement outlined their intentions to have their cake and eat it on the back of $5b worth of financing by JP Morgan. The backlash from all corners was instant, and unusually united in its condemnation. Money has long since been the driving force behind footballing success, but it appeared that this time the elite clubs had gone too far. Pundits, players past and present, coaches, fans and politicians were all unanimous in declaring that this powerplay would suffocate those on the outside, none more so than in England, where the backlash was felt strongest. The ever-transparent and morally upstanding FIFA and UEFA were also quick to throw their significant weight against the proposals. The topic dominated news channels and even the UK’s parliament as the American owners received the strongest condemnation from their own fans as well as those of other clubs, leading to protests outside the stadiums of all involved denouncing the betrayal and lack of veneration for the 133-year history of the English Football League. Quick to denounce any involvement too were the top German, French and Dutch clubs who declined their invitations despite Perez claiming they were never offered a seat at the table. Given the size of those clubs, those claims seem highly doubtful.
In light of such vociferous opposition, the ESL crumbled in less than three days as chief sportswashing operators; Chelsea and Manchester City first pulled out and were soon followed by the other English clubs, the smaller Italian clubs and Atletico Madrid. Owners were quick to issue grovelling apologies, some of which only further incensed fans for their lack of understanding and seemingly out-of-touch statements. The persisting three clubs are desperately clinging on to the project with Perez claiming the original 12 members are tied to ‘binding contracts’. But it seems for now at least that the European Super League will need to return to the drawing board.
Will The Punishment Fit The Crime?
What happens in the short term to the ‘traitorous twelve’ is up for debate with all sanctions seemingly on the table and up for discussion. The English clubs are all facing fan protests and calls for changes in ownership, while points deductions, expulsions, transfer bans and everything in between have also been mooted. It seems that any decision won’t likely be made until at least the summer and given the likely legal claims and counterclaims, they wouldn’t be enforced for a while yet anyway. In terms of ownership it will take a huge sum to buy out the current proprietors, which seems unlikely in the current climate. What happens in the long term to the ESL is also unclear, although having played their hand so openly only to be sent away with tails firmly between legs, the twelve are in a much weaker position when it comes to bargaining future television deals and Champions League restructuring despite them already being balanced in favour of the elite sides.
Initiated out of greed, contempt and opportunism, the ESL faced a public response rarely – if ever – seen before in sport and it has taken the twelve by surprise. However, don’t think that the social media-fuelled backlash is likely to truly change the thought process of the custodians at those football clubs as they continue to chase the mega money that would put them out of sight of the rest of the game. For now the games and competitions continue as though nothing has happened but ultimately, in spite of their promises to ‘safeguard’ the future of the game and their token nod towards improving the womens game, the ESL threatens the very fabric of the world’s most popular sport.
In one form or another, the European Super League is never going to go away as clubs seek to maximise broadcasting revenues without compromising the quality of their squads.
Ben Bennett is a contributing writer to The International