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Rebel clubs threatened with being kicked out of domestic leagues

Widespread condemnation as breakaway move revealed on eve of plans to restructure Champions League

Chelsea overcame Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday and both clubs are part of a potential breakaway to form a European Superleague Expand
Chelsea and City Expand

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Chelsea overcame Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday and both clubs are part of a potential breakaway to form a European Superleague

Chelsea overcame Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday and both clubs are part of a potential breakaway to form a European Superleague

Chelsea and City

Chelsea and City

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Chelsea overcame Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday and both clubs are part of a potential breakaway to form a European Superleague

Jeremy Wilson

Europe’s richest football clubs were last night threatened with expulsion from their domestic leagues and warned that their players would be barred from the World Cup if they went through with plans for a breakaway Super League.

The so-called ‘big six’ in England, comprising Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, have joined with leading clubs in Spain and Italy over a new highly selective and largely closed tournament that would effectively replace the Champions League.

The move, which represents a seismic challenge to the Premier League, the Football Association and Uefa, would pave the way for the biggest shake-up of club football in a generation.

Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Juventus and Inter Milan are also all ready to join the new Super League but leading clubs in Germany and France, including Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, have not so far signed up.

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The proposals sparked a furious backlash, including:

  • British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urging the football authorities to take action over the “very damaging plans”;
  •  The Premier League writing directly to its 20 clubs to urge them to walk away “before irreparable damage is done”;
  • The Football Association and Uefa warning that it would not sanction a breakaway, meaning that players and clubs could no longer compete in other official competitions;
  • Retired players, led by Gary Neville, calling out the “imposter” owners of their former clubs and advocated points deductions;
  • Fan groups lined up in opposition to a plan that they said were motivated by “cynical greed”.

 JP Morgan are believed to have held discussions about debt financing for the league and the three American owners of English football’s most success clubs – John W Henry at Liverpool, Joel Glazer at Manchester United and Stan Kroenke at Arsenal – were reportedly being lined up for senior roles

The dispute between Uefa and the leading English, Spanish and Italian clubs centres on the ownership of media and sponsorship rights to the Champions League. It has also followed previous suggestions for more guaranteed access to the competition or weekend games.

There is a strong feeling that Uefa enjoys excessive control and financial reward from the competition, even though the clubs are driving revenue and taking all the financial risk on player wages and transfer fees.

The rebel clubs still want to continue playing in domestic competition and the plans, which could come into force next year, would relate to midweek European competition. The move comes just as a new 36-team Champions League format was due to be announced by Uefa today, before coming into force in 2024.

That format had been designed to resist persistent proposals for a new Super League. A meeting of the umbrella European Club Association was held on Friday, however, and there was a major split over its potential benefits.

And, with a meeting of the Uefa executive committee today and then its congress due to be held tomorrow, the need for decisions has become urgent.

Uefa were last night still hoping to push forward with their new plans for clubs to play 10 group matches instead of six but have been met with limited enthusiasm.

There was also still a feeling that this could be an extraordinary act of brinkmanship by the clubs ahead of further negotiations over their desire for greater financial reward and control of the Champions League, although planning for a new competition does appear more advanced than ever.

After a frantic weekend of emergency meetings, football’s major governing bodies issued a series of statements.

A Premier League spokesperson said: “The Premier League condemns any proposal that attacks the principles of open competition and sporting merit which are at the heart of the domestic and European football pyramid.”

In his letter to Premier League clubs, chief executive Richard Masters highlighted Rule L9 which forbids clubs from entering other competitions.

“I cannot envisage any scenario where such permission would be granted,” he wrote. “We call upon any club contemplating associating themselves or joining this venture to walk away immediately before irreparable damage is done.”

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A joint statement by the FA, Uefa and the Premier League said that they were “united in our efforts to stop this cynical project” which is “founded on the self-interest of a few clubs at a time when society needs solidarity more than ever”. They also stressed that they were ready to take legal action to block any proposals.

“This persistent self-interest of a few has been going on for too long – enough is enough,” said the statement.

Last year, Liverpool and Manchester United sought to overhaul the domestic football structure, with their ‘Project Big Picture’ proposals that were eventually rejected by a majority of other Premier League clubs.

Neville, the former Manchester United captain, warned that fans could disown their clubs and accused the billionaire owners of disregarding the traditions of English football. “They’ve got no loyalty to this country and these leagues,” said Neville, a Sky Sports pundit. “They are imposters.”

Rio Ferdinand was similarly scathing. “This is, for me, a war on football. It’s a disgrace, it’s embarrassing and goes against everything football is about. It’s a closed shop for these bigwigs and it’s completely and utterly only about one thing and that’s money. The rich getting richer and the others not even being considered.

“How they’ve got the audacity to do it in the climate we’re in at the moment... the pandemic around the world. People are struggling all over the world, and this lot...colluding with this idea that they’ve hatched – and to break it like this.

“The element of being anti-competitive goes against everything football is about. It screams (that) these people have no idea what football’s about. It’s purely a business transaction. The people who make this game special are not being considered.”

On the United link, Ferdinand continued: “There’s been so much thrown at the owners these past years. This situation now, to be part of a breakaway group and leave everybody for dead, that’s an embarrassment. I can’t believe it.

“I’m a United fan and I love the club but I can’t stand by and support something like that.”

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]

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