According to reports, all 20 Premier League clubs have ‘agreed to collectively oppose’ the European Super League if the project returns.
Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur (who have the best finisher in the Premier League) all agreed to join the European Super League in April 2021 but they performed a swift U-turn just a couple of days later amid mass criticism from the footballing community.
A22 Sports Management and the Court of Justice for the European Union (CJEU) are in the middle of an anti-competition legal case with UEFA and FIFA.
A recent statement from A22 Sports management read: “Club football is on the eve of major change.
“We hope the European Court of Justice will end the monopoly of UEFA and enforce the fundamental freedoms of the European Union in the world of football.
“Fans, clubs, players and the sport of football would be the winners in a market that is open for a competition of ideas and in which clubs could govern and organise a European football competition without fear of threats.”
Regarding the stance from Premier League clubs, a report from journalist Ben Jacobs for Caught Offside claims ‘Premier League clubs have decided to collectively oppose the project regardless of the forthcoming legal ruling (due in December), which will be made by 12 judges’. His report explains.
‘Not just the ‘big six’, but all 20 clubs, are in agreement they don’t wish to join or endorse the project.’
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Jacobs added: ‘Even with changes, however appealing on paper some could be, opposition to the ESL from the Premier League is unlikely to change with multiple owners still scarred by the original fan backlash and having lost faith in the ESL itself following the half-baked launch.
‘Chelsea’s owners simply don’t believe there is an appetite for the project. And Tottenham’s Daniel Levy has also been vocal in rejecting any new dialogue.
‘Premier League clubs have decided to take any decision together to avoid peer pressure, which is something sources say Chelsea and Manchester City felt when first approached. And there is currently a consensus that staying within the FIFA-UEFA family is the right approach regardless of which way the CJEU hearing goes.
‘Although Joel Glazer was a key ESL figure originally, it’s understood he now accepts joining was unwise. And Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is close to owning 25% of Manchester United, is also against a ESL. Manchester United instead see value in staying within the FIFA family believing the club’s value will grow if they can participate regularly in the new expanded Club World Cup from 2025, as well as qualify more consistently for the Champions League.
‘All this means even a legal victory for the ESL on December 21 won’t necessarily greenlight their project because the trust hasn’t been restored from the original launch.’
