European Super League could sensationally return & include EIGHTY teams despite huge backlash

• Original idea shut down in 2021
• Fans opposed new competition
• UEFA not happy with concept

WHAT HAPPENED? The organisers behind original plans in 2021 that were shut down amid a fierce backlash from fans of the 12 teams involved – including Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Juventus, Real Madrid and Barcelona - are refusing to give up on the concept and believe that revamped blueprints could attract greater support. The latest Super League idea would be based on sporting performance, rather than having guaranteed membership, and would help to generate more revenue for those involved as they compete in at least 14 games per season against fellow members of the continental elite.

WHAT THEY SAID: Bernd Reichart, chief executive of the A22 Sports Management Group that is behind the new plans, has told Die Welt: “The foundations of European football are in danger of collapsing. It’s time for a change. It is the clubs that bear the entrepreneurial risk in football. But when important decisions are at stake, they are too often forced to sit idly by on the sidelines as the sporting and financial foundations crumble around them.

“Our talks have also made it clear that clubs often find it impossible to speak out publicly against a system that uses the threat of sanctions to thwart opposition. Our dialogue was open, honest, constructive and resulted in clear ideas about what changes are needed and how they could be implemented. There is a lot to do and we will continue our dialogue.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: While certain individuals believe that a Super League is necessary and very much worth exploring, La Liga are among the first to have spoken out against the latest proposals – in a social media post that features European football portrayed as Little Red Riding Hood and a wolf wearing a Super League badge. Liga president Javier Tebas has said: “The Super League is the wolf, who today disguises himself as a granny to try to fool European football, but HIS nose and HIS teeth are very big, four divisions in Europe? Of course the first for them, as in the 2019 reform. Government of the clubs? Of course only the big ones.”

IN THREE PHOTOS:

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WHAT NEXT? UEFA has already dismissed any suggestion that A22 could help to introduce another competition – one which rivals the Champions League – with the governing body saying back in November 2022 that “the whole of European football opposes their greedy plan.”