This coming Thursday at 9:30 a.m. in Luxembourg, the world of football could change forever. At that time the European Court of Justice (CJEU) will make public its opinion on the Super League. The clubs hope that the highest European body will rule that UEFA and FIFA exercise a monopoly in football and will thus be allowed to create and participate in the competitions they consider appropriate.
The two clubs that most want this decision are Real Madrid and Barcelona. Both have remained together until the end in this fight against all national and international organizations, and seek to recover the economic preeminence of the past ahead of the pejoratively called state clubs.
The Super League’s ruling, if it were to agree with the Spanish teams, would mean something similar to the Bosman Law, by which players belonging to the European Union do not have foreign status in any of the countries that comprise it. That rule opened borders and was a huge boost for the beautiful sport in Europe.
It is still early to gauge the consequences of the possible creation of the Super League, but in the event that the TSJUE gives the green light or is not categorical in its prohibition, the twelve clubs that declared themselves founders and signed their commitment (Manchester United, Arsenal , Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester City, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona, ??Atlético de Madrid, Inter Milan, Milan and Juventus), would be forced to participate if they do not want Sixth Street, the American investment fund that acts as a lender in the project, demands million-dollar sums from them.
All of this would be a very hard blow for the leagues, including the Spanish League, which would see how the three best teams in the competition could leave or the number of teams would simply be reduced to adjust the extensive calendar of the Super League. It is precisely these competitions and UEFA, on which all official European football competitions now depend, are the main opponents of this new way of understanding football.
The Super League would be made up of 20 teams, but what was initially going to be a closed competition is now clear that it will be governed by sporting merits. “The European league should be an open competition (…) Participation each season should be based on sporting merit, without there being permanent members,” explained Bernd Reichart, CEO of A22, promoter of the tournament, in his decalogue on its future. normative.
At the beginning, the Super League was designed for a single division, although after the first criticism it was immediately thought of creating a second. Reichart referred to several divisions, made up of “between 60 and 80 teams”, and that allow “a sustainable distribution of income throughout the football pyramid.” The financial stability of the clubs, which is what they ultimately seek, would increase significantly if they are guaranteed a minimum of 14 European matches per season. More games, more income.
In this regard, solidarity payments will be larger than those currently generated by the European competition system and are expected to “exceed €10 billion.” The founding clubs will receive, together, a one-time payment of 3.5 billion euros dedicated solely to undertaking investment plans. The message for state clubs is clear: “Expenditure should be supported only by the resources that the clubs are capable of generating and not on capital injections from third parties that distort the competition.”
