There have been various rumours regarding the European Super League in recent hours. It has come to light that UEFA was planning a change in the Champions League format to counter the chances of the European Super League being formed.
However, it has been learned that 12 clubs have already agreed to form the European Super League. 3 Spanish clubs – Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, 3 Italian clubs – Juventus, Inter Milan and AC Milan and 6 English clubs – Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have agreed on the formation of the European Super League.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez will be the chairman of the European League. The announcement of the creation of the European Super League led by Real Madrid and Manchester United is imminent and will be done in the coming days or maybe even hours.
The idea of the leaders of the European Super League is to convince both the clubs and the institutions that this movement does not harm the domestic Leagues, but simply replaces the UEFA Champions League.
The Times state that the new European Super League would include (via Onefootball):
- The founder clubs sharing an initial 3.5billion (£3.1billion) euro “infrastructure grant” ranging from £310million to £89million per club which can be spent on stadiums, training facilities or “to replace lost stadium-related revenues due to Covid-19”
- The format would see two groups of 10 clubs who play 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.
- 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.
- 20% of the pot 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)
- A ‘Financial Sustainability Group’ would monitor clubs’ spending.
- It is as yet unclear as to who the ‘founding clubs’ would be, however, The Times believe that so far only Manchester City of the English top six have opted out.
