European Super League Mega Thread

[jolsnogross]

I'm just giving my theory for why it fell apart. I don't buy the notion that it was fan reaction after just one day, especially when it was anticipated.

Clubs pulling out wasn't part of the plan, I'm just saying Juventus, Madrid and Barcelona cannot afford to stop.

Fair enough. I reckon you give them way to much credit. There was a comment from a Bayern director to a journalist, in response to a query about how the 12 must have a series of steps lined up to push this through: Never underestimate the incompetence of some of these guys (paraphrasing).

I don't think they anticipated the scale of reaction. And that's been key to unravelling this for now. If they can't afford to stop, then they'll have to be stopped or else the closed-shop model will happen.

 

[tommyt]

Barcelona 2023 Wages | Player & Team totals

Barcelona's total wage bill per year is £144,095,120 and £2,771,060 per week | Search the most comprehensive salary and contract database.

salarysport.com

Real Madrid 2023 Wages | Player & Team totals

Real Madrid's total wage bill per year is £233,168,000 and £4,484,000 per week | Search the most comprehensive salary and contract database.

salarysport.com

I don't know how accuate these figures are, but roughly £240,000,000 per year on wages? That is obscene. I am glad this Super League shit is no more and hope these clubs owners are made to suffer.

Paying players 1 million a week is honestly sickening.

 

[glacierSpurs]

This whole debacle in summary...

Spurs in the ESL: fucking disgrace

If Spurs not in the ESL: ffs are we not a big club?

Levy joins the ESL: Levy and ENIC out!

Levy quits the ESL: Levy and ENIC are an embarrassment.

Some fans views on ESL: greedy fucks

When ESL collapses and forgotten: FIFA and UEFA and FA are corrupted fucks

?‍

 

[Ossie'sAardvark]

What a moral bunch football fans are. It's like being surrounded by thousands of Gandhis.

 

[Barmy_in_Palmy]

I'm just giving my theory for why it fell apart. I don't buy the notion that it was fan reaction after just one day, especially when it was anticipated.

Clubs pulling out wasn't part of the plan, I'm just saying Juventus, Madrid and Barcelona cannot afford to stop.

It was partly fan reaction. The fans few themselves as a part of the club, the very fabric of it. They view the fans as deeply loyal customers who continue to give them money no matter how poorly they are treated.

This gave them the belief that no matter what they did or where they did it, their customers would stick with them a follow them.

The customers are their cash cows, and they were without a doubt shocked at the fan reaction not just by the “legacy” fans outside the gates but also the international fans who supposedly just want to watch the big games. They never realised that those international fans care just as much about the history and the legacy of those clubs as the local fans do.

Once they worked out that not only do they not have the fans on their side but essentially had the whole world against them they were just a bit fucked.

if you don’t have fans you don’t have a club. A competition run by clubs without fans is one irrelevant and two not a competition that makes any money.

I also believe that they thought that they could have their cake and eat it too. That is they believed they could join this new midweek competition and still have the domestic competition as their bread a butter.

Once they were informed that if they carried out their threat to start the new competition that they’d be kicked out of the premier league. These clubs are first and foremost premier league clubs, without having the premier league they’re clubs with no identity, no fans and only have a midweek competition to play in.

Thirdly they lost the support of their players. To begin with they treated them like mushrooms, feed them shit and kept them in the dark. So not only were the players upset about how the whole shit circus had come out but they were then threatened with international bans.

Now I disagree with people who believe that the top players don’t want to play international football. I think it’s pretty obvious that it’s a hell of an attraction and honour to play for your country. Now for the players to be told essentially through the media that because the owners of their clubs want to make more money, that they the players would be banned from representing their countries was too much. The players didn’t sign up for this bullshit. Once they players let their clubs know that they weren’t interested in this new competition if it meant they’d be banned from international football the clubs realised they were truly and utterly fucked.

It’s not a super league when they clubs don’t have fans. It’s not a super league when the clubs don’t have their domestic competition and it’s not a super league when the best players in the world don’t want to be a part of it.

Once the light bulbs started shining the clubs knew they were dead in the water.

 

[hellava_tough]

They needed to get a couple of German clubs (probably RBL and another) and PSG on board.

Plus, each of the proposed ESL clubs should have put down a sizeable cash deposit, which they'd lose if they backed out.

On the surface of it, this looks like a total debacle and I guess these owners aren't as smart as I thought they were

 

[Shanks]

 

[Jamturk]

Wonder if this means Reguilon will return to Madrid as retribution ?

They can't afford him

 

[Sum Monsterism]

 

[Pochemon94]

This still isn't over either. Change has to happen as far as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus are concerned; they're right on the edge financially, and cannot afford things to remain as they are.

I got a sneaking suspicion that those 3 teams will get a handsome payment under the table from UEFA to end this, everyone wins, they still get the 3 coefficient spots and they get bailed out. That's what pisses me off more than anything about this, is that this was 100% all for a bailout of these 3 teams so Barca/Real can get Haaland and Mbappe respectivley and keep their power in the global game

 

[luptic]

Now that those Clubs have been ashamed into withdrawing their support for this new competition. Can those calling them out, who took the moral high ground, look themselves In the mirror and redress the role they play they play in all this?
And that means the player salaries, transfer fees, media, agents, inequality & intolerance and the fans. Stop the drain on the sport for better good of the game.

 

[stormfly]

So the ESL is over and we’ve sacked Jose. What are we all going to be divided about now? It could get boring on here for a while and we might turn into one big happy family! Arghh.

 

[spursfan77]

Call me crazy but I honestly do not think this is dead. There is still every chance UEFA has agreed to or will have to bribe this lot to kill it off. Or that the others will seek to proceed, probably in kahoots with PSG post-Qatar 2022, making the UCL unviable and giving the English clubs leverage to reach a compromise less outrageous to the fans and government. Or that "negotiations" will start with UEFA, ending up with either a heavily changed UCL or a breakaway with some of the most outrageous bits removed. The backdown has simply been too quick and easy for so monumental a plan formulated in response to so serious a circumstance. Perez is still getting fatter dining out on this one and I don't hear no singing yet.

I agree. Something else will be formulated. But let’s remember these owners are very arrogant men, they wouldn’t of been expecting this to fall over. They would of assumed they’d get what they want. There wouldn’t of been any back up to this.

Where it leaves those Spanish and Italian clubs with huge debts will be interesting to see. They desperately need the money, UEFA won’t want to see them go under, they’ll come to some sort of compromise and be welcomed back. You only have to look at UEFA’s response to the man city withdrawal news to see they’ve no scruples or morals.

 

[Hoddle&Waddle]

The narrative being pushed for the superleague collapse seems to be fan pressure, but I am 100% calling bs. There is no way the participating clubs didn't expect the overwhelmingly negative fan reaction.

My theory: after they got the initial 12 founding clubs to sign up, the brains trust thought they had enough support to pressure the other big clubs (especially psg & bayern) into joining to avoid being left behind.

Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus were probably the main driving forces because they badly need the money. Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool were probably secondary driving forces because they have american owners that believe in an american style competition. Then they managed to get Spurs on board because they're not in a position to refuse, along with a reluctant Man City and Chelsea, who don't need the money at all, but don't want to be left behind.

The problem is, the superleague was in a situation where they cannot afford a single wheel to fall off. The negative reaction was expected, its now a matter of keeping all the clubs united and strong. Man City and Chelsea probably saw Bayern and PSG strongly condemn the superleague and refuse to join, and that might've been what prompted them to leave. Once one team leaves, the others have to inevitably follow.

This still isn't over either. Change has to happen as far as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus are concerned; they're right on the edge financially, and cannot afford things to remain as they are.

Nobody told Juve to give the likes of Aaron Ramsey 400k a week. They only have themselves to blame.

 

[worcestersauce]

Now that we've addressed this issue perhaps football in this country could deal with the real problem that is ruining it, club ownership.
The fact that Man City and Chelsea were first to say they wanted to leave is no surprise as they don't need to earn money through football or developing revenue streams they've got shady Russian dark money and the oil revenues of a small country to spend whenever they like.

 

[Stalterinho]

The people asking for point deductions and relegations all I have to say to that is, you're all a big bunch of Karens

 

[DCSPUR64]

The people asking for point deductions and relegations all I have to say to that is, you're all a big bunch of Karens

Miss Piggy?

 

[Stalterinho]

Miss Piggy?

Mr Piggy?

 

[DCSPUR64]

Mr Piggy?

I was thinking Karren Brady (West Ham)

 

[ShayLaB]

Two clubs that backed out because they don't need the money : Man City and Chelsea

Two clubs that were lucky to be asked to join and knew the risk of being left in the dust: Spurs and Arsenal

Two clubs with American owners : Liverpool and MU