The Superleague, try as some fans might, refuses to go away. The recent appointment of firm A22 as the organisers and CEO Bernd Reichart of the competition confirm that Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid are attempting to forge ahead.
Speaking to Sport in a recent interview, Barcelona President Joan Laporta confirmed as much.
“The Super League is a great opportunity. But you can only win through dialogue. What the Super League aims to do is improve football, it fights for the sustainability of football, so that the clubs come out of ruin, so that the clubs can be more and more competitive, and have more resources. The Super League will end up as a much improved Champions League, which will be based on meritocracy, that is, it will be open, without club discrimination, but with guarantees and rules that will allow clubs to have more resources. Super League CEO Bernd Reichart met last Tuesday with UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin in a very important step forward.”
Despite Laporta’s words, many saw that meeting as a victory for UEFA over the Superleague, with multiple groups turning up to the meeting and battering Reichart with questions he could not answer.
He also spoke about the earning potential for the Superleague – a single year of the Superleague would add up to the equivalent of Barcelona’s current debt, although that is without taking into account the money they would not gain from the Champions League.
“From the outset, for the founding clubs, there is an initial bonus of 1,000 million euros. And per season we could get about 300 million annually in this competition. In addition, the key to the Super League is that the clubs will have governance. UEFA will obviously be at the governance table, but the clubs will have the majority.”
It is not yet clear who the founding clubs are – whether that is restricted to Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid, or refers to the founding 12 members of the original Superleague.
Laporta bookmarked a crucial date one way or another.
“In March there will be the resolution of the Court of Luxembourg and having started this dialogue with UEFA, I think that in a couple of seasons the competition could start.”
The three clubs still remaining in the Superleague see it as their golden ticket to increase their income, but also level the playing field with the Premier League clubs. However as their competitive advantage becomes increasingly obvious, it will be difficult to persuade the English sides into the project, even if the remaining three can put it together.
